System, method, and detector module for pet imaging

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a system for PET imaging. The system may include a detector module and an electronics module. The detector module may include a scintillator array having N rows of scintillators arranged in a first direction and M columns of scintillators arranged in a second direction, a first set of photosensors coupled to the scintillator array and extending in the second direction, and a second set of photosensors coupled to the scintillator array and extending in the first direction. The electronics module may detect a first set of electrical signals generated by the first set of photosensors and a second set of electrical signals generated by the second set of photosensors, and identify a scintillator within the scintillator array that has interacted with an impinging radiation ray relating to an electrical signal of the first set of electrical signals or the second set of electrical signals.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/793,959, filed on Oct. 25, 2017, which is a continuation ofInternational Application No. PCT/CN2017/099684, filed on Aug. 30, 2017,the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to optical detection, and moreparticularly, a system, method, and detector module for PET imaging.

BACKGROUND

Generally, positron emission tomography (PET) detector modules have beenset in various medical devices such as, positron emission tomographydevices, positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT)devices, and positron emission tomography-magnetic resonance imaging(PET-MRI) devices, in which PET technologies are applied. PET detectormodules are used to receive radiation rays (e.g., y rays) generated froma patient's body and to provide information relating to the locationswhere photons are excited by the radiation rays. PET detector modulesmay generate electrical signals based on the radiation rays, and thenthe electrical signals may be detected and used to reconstruct an image.

A PET detector module may include a scintillator array, and a pluralityof photosensors (e.g., silicon photomultipliers (SiPM)) opticallycoupled to the scintillator array. The photosensors may have variousconfigurations. With more photosensors, the detection performance of themedical devices may be relatively high, but the cost and complexity ofthe medical devices may be relatively high. With fewer photosensors, thedetection performance of the medical devices may be relatively low, butthe cost and complexity of the medical devices may be relatively low. Itis desirable to seek a balance between maintaining a relatively highperformance and lowering the cost and complexity of the medical devices.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a PET system forimaging. The PET system may include a detector module and an electronicsmodule. The detector module may be configured to receive radiation raysand generate a plurality of light signals in response to the receivedradiation rays. The detector module may include a scintillator arrayhaving N rows of scintillators arranged in a first direction and Mcolumns of scintillators arranged in a second direction, a first set ofphotosensors optically coupled to a first surface of the scintillatorarray and extending in the second direction, and a second set ofphotosensors optically coupled to a second surface of the scintillatorarray and extending in the first direction. The electronics module maybe coupled to the first set of photosensors and the second set ofphotosensors. The electronics module may configured to detect a firstset of electrical signals generated by the first set of photosensors anda second set of electrical signals generated by the second set ofphotosensors, and identify a scintillator within the scintillator arraythat has interacted with an impinging radiation ray relating to anelectrical signal of the first set of electrical signals or the secondset of electrical signals.

Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method for PETimaging. The method may include one or more of the following operations.A plurality of radiation rays may be detected using a scintillatorarray, wherein the scintillator array may include N rows ofscintillators arranged in a first direction and M columns ofscintillators arranged in a second direction. A first set of electricalsignals may be generated based on the plurality of radiation rays usinga first set of photosensors, wherein the first set of photosensors maybe optically coupled to a first surface of the scintillator array andextending in the second direction. A second set of electrical signalsmay be generated based on the plurality of radiation rays using a secondset of photosensors, wherein the second set of photosensors may beoptically coupled to a second surface of the scintillator array andextending in the first direction. A scintillator within the scintillatorarray that has interacted with an impinging radiation ray relating to anelectrical signal of the first set of electrical signals or the secondset of electrical signals may be identified using an electronics module.

A further aspect of the present disclosure relates to a detector module.The detector module may be configured to receive radiation rays andgenerate a plurality of light signals in response to the receivedradiation rays. The detector module may include a scintillator arrayhaving N rows of scintillators arranged in a first direction and Mcolumns of scintillators arranged in a second direction, a first set ofphotosensors optically coupled to a first surface of the scintillatorarray and extending in the second direction, and a second set ofphotosensors optically coupled to a second surface of the scintillatorarray and extending in the first direction.

In some embodiments, the first set of photosensors or the second set ofphotosensors may include at least one silicon photomultiplier (SiPM).

In some embodiments, the PET system may further include a gantry with adetection region for receiving a subject to be scanned, wherein thefirst surface or the second surface of the scintillator array may facethe detection region.

In some embodiments, the first direction may be approximatelyperpendicular to the second direction.

In some embodiments, at least one of the first set of photosensors maybe coupled to two rows of scintillators of the N rows, and at least oneof the second set of photosensors may be coupled to two columns ofscintillators of the M columns.

In some embodiments, an area of a first photosensor of the first set ofphotosensors may be less than a sum of areas of the two rows ofscintillators to which the first photosensor is coupled.

In some embodiments, an area of a second photosensor of the second setof photosensors may be less than a sum of areas of the two columns ofscintillators to which the second photosensor is coupled.

In some embodiments, a number of the first set of photosensors may be noless than a half of N, and a number of the second set of photosensorsmay be no less than a half of M.

In some embodiments, N may equal M, or N may be different from M.

In some embodiments, the electronics module may be further configured todetermine a depth of interaction of the impinging radiation ray in theidentified scintillator.

In some embodiments, the electronics module may include a plurality ofanalog-to-digital converters (ADC) configured to digitize the first setof electrical signals and the second set of electrical signals, and aposition decoding unit configured to identify, based on the digitizedfirst set of electrical signals and the digitized second set ofelectrical signals, the scintillator within the scintillator array thathas interacted with the impinging radiation ray.

In some embodiments, the position decoding unit may be furtherconfigured to determine a depth of interaction of the impingingradiation ray.

In some embodiments, the electronics module may further include a lowerlimit detection (LLD) circuit or a constant fraction discriminator (CFD)circuit, and a time-to-digital converter (TDC) configured to determinean interaction time when the impinging radiation ray interacts with theidentified scintillator.

In some embodiments, the electronics module may further include a timecorrection unit configured to correct the interaction time based on thedepth of interaction of the impinging radiation ray.

In some embodiments, the PET system may further include a processingmodule configured to reconstruct an image based on the first set ofelectrical signals generated by the first set of photosensors and thesecond set of electrical signals generated by the second set ofphotosensors.

In some embodiments, the identification of a scintillator within thescintillator array that has interacted with an impinging radiation rayrelating to an electrical signal of the first set of electrical signalsor the second set of electrical signals may include one or more of thefollowing operations. A first position of the impinging radiation raythat has interacted with the scintillator array in the first directionmay be determined based on the first set of electrical signals using analgorithm. A second position of the impinging radiation ray that hasinteracted with the scintillator array in the second direction may bedetermined based on the second set of electrical signals using thealgorithm. The scintillator within the scintillator array that hasinteracted with the impinging radiation ray may be identified based onthe first position and the second position.

In some embodiments, the method may further include one or more of thefollowing operations. A depth of interaction of the impinging radiationray in the identified scintillator may be identified based on the firstset of electrical signals and the second set of electrical signals usingthe algorithm.

In some embodiments, the method may further include one or more of thefollowing operations. An interaction time when the impinging radiationray interacts with the identified scintillator may be determined using atime-to-digital converter (TDC).

In some embodiments, the method may further include one or more of thefollowing operations. The interaction time may be corrected based on thedepth of interaction of the impinging radiation ray in the identifiedscintillator.

In some embodiments, the first direction may correspond to an X axisdirection, the first position of the impinging radiation ray maycorrespond to a position in the X axis direction, and the determinationthe first position of the impinging radiation ray that has interactedwith the scintillator array in the first direction may include one ormore of the following operations. A position of a first photosensor thatgenerates an electrical signal with maximum energy of the first set ofelectrical signals in the X axis direction may be designated as thefirst position, or a position of an energy centroid of the first set ofelectrical signals in the X axis direction may be designated as thefirst position.

In some embodiments, the second direction may correspond to a Y axisdirection, the second position of the impinging radiation ray maycorrespond to a position in the Y axis direction, and the determinationof the second position of the impinging radiation ray that hasinteracted with the scintillator array in the second direction mayinclude one or more of the following operations. A position of a secondphotosensor that generates an electrical signal with maximum energy ofthe second set of electrical signals in the Y axis direction may bedesignated as the second position, or a position of an energy centroidof the second set of electrical signals in the Y axis direction may bedesignated as the second position.

In some embodiments, the depth of interaction of the impinging radiationray in the identified scintillator may correspond to a position in a Zaxis direction that is perpendicular to the first direction and thesecond direction, and the identification of the depth of interaction ofthe impinging radiation ray in the identified scintillator may includeone or more of the following operations. A proportional distributioncoefficient may be determined based on a ratio of first energy relatingto the first set of electrical signals to second energy relating to thefirst set of electrical signals and the second set of electricalsignals. The depth of interaction of the impinging radiation ray may bedetermined based on the proportional distribution coefficient.

In some embodiments, the first energy may relate to a first sum of thefirst set of electrical signals, the second energy may relate to asecond sum of the first set of electrical signals and the second set ofelectrical signals, and the first set of electrical signals and thesecond set of electrical signals may be converted by at least oneanalog-to-digital converter and processed by a position decoding unit.

In some embodiments, the impinging radiation ray may interact with thescintillator array from the first surface of the scintillator array, andthe determination of an interaction time may include one or more of thefollowing operations. A third sum of the first set of electrical signalsmay be determined. The interaction time may be determined based on thethird sum of the first set of electrical signals using a lower limitdetection (LLD) circuit, a constant fraction discriminator (CFD)circuit, and/or a time-to-digital converter (TDC).

In some embodiments, the impinging radiation ray may interact with thescintillator array from the second surface of the scintillator array,and the determination of an interaction time may include one or more ofthe following operations. A fourth sum of the second set of electricalsignals may be determined. The interaction time may be determined basedon the fourth sum of the second set of electrical signals using a lowerlimit detection (LLD) circuit, or a constant fraction discriminator(CFD) circuit, and a time-to-digital converter (TDC).

In some embodiments, the scintillator array may further include S rowsof blocks arranged in the first direction and T columns of blocksarranged in the second direction, wherein each block may include N rowsof scintillators arranged in the first direction and M columns ofscintillators arranged in the second direction, and the method mayfurther include one or more of the following operations. A sum of Selectrical signals generated by S photosensors that are opticallycoupled to the first surface of the scintillator array and arranged in asame column of the T columns of blocks may be designated as one of thefirst set of electrical signals. A sum of T electrical signals generatedby T photosensors that are optically coupled to the second surface ofthe scintillator array and arranged in a same row of the S rows ofblocks may be designated as one of the second set of electrical signals.

Additional features will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the artupon examination of the following and the accompanying drawings or maybe learned by production or operation of the examples. The features ofthe present disclosure may be realized and attained by practice or useof various aspects of the methodologies, instrumentalities, andcombinations set forth in the detailed examples discussed below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is further described in terms of exemplaryembodiments. These exemplary embodiments are described in detail withreference to the drawings. These embodiments are non-limiting exemplaryembodiments, in which like reference numerals represent similarstructures throughout the several views of the drawings, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary PET imagingsystem according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 2A-2C are schematic diagrams illustrating an exemplary detectormodule according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary detector moduleaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary detectoraccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a 4×4scintillator array of an exemplary detector module according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a 4×1 firstphotosensor array of an exemplary detector module according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4C is a schematic diagram illustrating a right view of an exemplarydetector module according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4D is a schematic diagram illustrating a front view of an exemplarydetector module according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a 4×4scintillator array of an exemplary detector module according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a 4×4 firstphotosensor array of an exemplary detector module according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5C is a schematic diagram illustrating a right view of an exemplarydetector module according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5D is a schematic diagram illustrating a front view of an exemplarydetector module according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary detector moduleaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary detectoraccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a 4×4scintillator array of an exemplary detector module according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a 2×1 firstphotosensor array of an exemplary detector module according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7C is a schematic diagram illustrating a right view of an exemplarydetector module according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7D is a schematic diagram illustrating a front view of an exemplarydetector module according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a 4×4scintillator array of an exemplary detector module according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8B is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a 2×4 firstphotosensor array of an exemplary detector module according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8C is a schematic diagram illustrating a bottom view of a 4×2second photosensor array of an exemplary detector module according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8D is a schematic diagram illustrating a right view of an exemplarydetector module according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8E is a schematic diagram illustrating a front view of an exemplarydetector module according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary processingengine according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary acquisitionmodule according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for PET imagingaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 12A-12C are schematic diagrams illustrating exemplary electronicsfor determining information relating to the interaction position of areceived radiation ray according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary electronics fordetermining information relating to the interaction time of a receivedradiation ray according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe relevant disclosure. However, it should be apparent to those skilledin the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without suchdetails. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, systems,components, and/or circuitry have been described at a relativelyhigh-level, without detail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuringaspects of the present disclosure. Various modifications to thedisclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in theart, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to otherembodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limitedto the embodiments shown, but to be accorded the widest scope consistentwith the claims.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexample embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As usedherein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise,”“comprises,” and/or “comprising,” “include,” “includes,” and/or“including,” when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

It will be understood that the term “system,” “engine,” “unit,”“module,” and/or “block” used herein are one method to distinguishdifferent components, elements, parts, section or assembly of differentlevel in ascending order. However, the terms may be displaced by anotherexpression if they achieve the same purpose.

Generally, the word “module,” “unit,” or “block,” as used herein, refersto logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection ofsoftware instructions. A module, a unit, or a block described herein maybe implemented as software and/or hardware and may be stored in any typeof non-transitory computer-readable medium or other storage device. Insome embodiments, a software module/unit/block may be compiled andlinked into an executable program. It will be appreciated that softwaremodules can be callable from other modules/units/blocks or fromthemselves, and/or may be invoked in response to detected events orinterrupts. Software modules/units/blocks configured for execution oncomputing devices may be provided on a computer-readable medium, such asa compact disc, a digital video disc, a flash drive, a magnetic disc, orany other tangible medium, or as a digital download (and can beoriginally stored in a compressed or installable format that needsinstallation, decompression, or decryption prior to execution). Suchsoftware code may be stored, partially or fully, on a storage device ofthe executing computing device, for execution by the computing device.Software instructions may be embedded in firmware, such as an EPROM. Itwill be further appreciated that hardware modules/units/blocks may beincluded in connected logic components, such as gates and flip-flops,and/or can be included of programmable units, such as programmable gatearrays or processors. The modules/units/blocks or computing devicefunctionality described herein may be implemented as softwaremodules/units/blocks, but may be represented in hardware or firmware. Ingeneral, the modules/units/blocks described herein refer to logicalmodules/units/blocks that may be combined with othermodules/units/blocks or divided into sub-modules/sub-units/sub-blocksdespite their physical organization or storage. The description may beapplicable to a system, an engine, or a portion thereof.

It will be understood that when a unit, engine, module or block isreferred to as being “on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to,” anotherunit, engine, module, or block, it may be directly on, connected orcoupled to, or communicate with the other unit, engine, module, orblock, or an intervening unit, engine, module, or block may be present,unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the term“and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items.

These and other features, and characteristics of the present disclosure,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of structure and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, may become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description with reference to the accompanying drawings, allof which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be expresslyunderstood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose ofillustration and description only and are not intended to limit thescope of the present disclosure. It is understood that the drawings arenot to scale.

For illustration purposes, the following description is provided withreference to a PET detector module. It is understood that this is notintended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. For personshaving ordinary skills in the art, a certain amount of variations,changes and/or modifications may be deducted under the guidance of thepresent disclosure. Those variations, changes and/or modifications donot depart from the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary PET imagingsystem 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Asshown, the PET imaging system 100 may include a scanner 110, a network120, one or more terminals 130, a processing engine 140, and a storagedevice 150. The components in the imaging system 100 may be connected inone or more of variable ways. Merely by way of example, as illustratedin FIG. 1, the scanner 110 may be connected to the processing engine 140through the network 120. As another example, the scanner 110 may beconnected to the processing engine 140 directly. As a further example,the storage device 150 may be connected to the processing engine 140directly or through the network 120. As still a further example, aterminal 130 may be connected to the processing engine 140 directly orthrough the network 120.

The scanner 110 may scan an object, and/or generate a plurality of datarelating to the object. In some embodiments, the scanner 110 may be amedical imaging device, for example, a PET device, a PET-CT device, aPET-MRI device, etc. The scanner 110 may include a gantry 111, adetector assembly 112, a detection region 113, and a table 114. Asubject may be placed on the table 114 for scanning. In the presentdisclosure, “object” and “subject” are used interchangeably. Thedetector assembly 112 may detect radiation events (e.g., gamma photons)emitted from the detection region 113. In some embodiments, the detectorassembly 112 may include one or more detector modules. The detectormodules may be implemented in any suitable configuration, for example, aring, a rectangle, or an array. In some embodiments, a detector modulemay include one or more crystal elements and/or one or morephotomultipliers (e.g., silicon photomultiplier (SiPM)) (not shown). Insome embodiments, a SiPM as employed in the present disclosure may be asingle-channel SiPM or a multi-channel SiPM. The table 114 mayfacilitate the positioning of a subject in the detection region 113.

The network 120 may include any suitable network that can facilitateexchange of information and/or data for the PET imaging system 100. Insome embodiments, one or more components of the PET imaging system 100(e.g., the scanner 110, the terminal 130, the processing engine 140, thestorage device 150, etc.) may communicate information and/or data withone or more other components of the PET imaging system 100 via thenetwork 120. For example, the processing engine 140 may obtain imagedata from the scanner 110 via the network 120. As another example, theprocessing engine 140 may obtain user instructions from the terminal 130via the network 120. The network 120 may be and/or include a publicnetwork (e.g., the Internet), a private network (e.g., a local areanetwork (LAN), a wide area network (WAN)), etc.), a wired network (e.g.,an Ethernet network), a wireless network (e.g., an 802.11 network, aWi-Fi network, etc.), a cellular network (e.g., a Long Term Evolution(LTE) network), a frame relay network, a virtual private network(“VPN”), a satellite network, a telephone network, routers, hubs,switches, server computers, and/or any combination thereof. Merely byway of example, the network 120 may include a cable network, a wirelinenetwork, a fiber-optic network, a telecommunications network, anintranet, a wireless local area network (WLAN), a metropolitan areanetwork (MAN), a public telephone switched network (PSTN), a Bluetooth™network, a ZigBee™ network, a near field communication (NFC) network, orthe like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the network120 may include one or more network access points. For example, thenetwork 120 may include wired and/or wireless network access points suchas base stations and/or internet exchange points through which one ormore components of the PET imaging system 100 may be connected to thenetwork 120 to exchange data and/or information.

The terminal(s) 130 may include a mobile device 131, a tablet computer132, a laptop computer 133, or the like, or any combination thereof. Insome embodiments, the mobile device 131 may include a smart home device,a wearable device, a mobile device, a virtual reality device, anaugmented reality device, or the like, or any combination thereof. Insome embodiments, the smart home device may include a smart lightingdevice, a control device of an intelligent electrical apparatus, a smartmonitoring device, a smart television, a smart video camera, aninterphone, or the like, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, the wearable device may include a bracelet, footgear,eyeglasses, a helmet, a watch, clothing, a backpack, a smart accessory,or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the mobiledevice may include a mobile phone, a personal digital assistance (PDA),a gaming device, a navigation device, a point of sale (POS) device, alaptop, a tablet computer, a desktop, or the like, or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the virtual reality device and/or theaugmented reality device may include a virtual reality helmet, virtualreality glasses, a virtual reality patch, an augmented reality helmet,augmented reality glasses, an augmented reality patch, or the like, orany combination thereof. For example, the virtual reality device and/orthe augmented reality device may include a Google Glass™, an OculusRift™, a Hololens™, a Gear VR™, etc. In some embodiments, theterminal(s) 130 may be part of the processing engine 140.

The processing engine 140 may process data and/or information obtainedfrom the scanner 110, the terminal(s) 130, and/or the storage device150. For example, the processing engine 140 may process image data andreconstruct an image based on the image data. In some embodiments, theprocessing engine 140 may be a single server or a server group. Theserver group may be centralized or distributed. In some embodiments, theprocessing engine 140 may be local or remote. For example, theprocessing engine 140 may access information and/or data stored in thescanner 110, the terminal(s) 130, and/or the storage device 150 via thenetwork 120. As another example, the processing engine 140 may bedirectly connected to the scanner 110, the terminal(s) 130 and/or thestorage device 150 to access stored information and/or data. In someembodiments, the processing engine 140 may be implemented on a cloudplatform. Merely by way of example, the cloud platform may include aprivate cloud, a public cloud, a hybrid cloud, a community cloud, adistributed cloud, an inter-cloud, a multi-cloud, or the like, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, the processing engine 140 maybe implemented by a computing device. In some embodiments, theprocessing engine 140, or a portion of the processing engine 140 may beintegrated into the scanner 110.

The storage device 150 may store data, instructions, and/or any otherinformation. In some embodiments, the storage device 150 may store dataobtained from the terminal(s) 130 and/or the processing engine 140. Insome embodiments, the storage device 150 may store data and/orinstructions that the processing engine 140 may execute or use toperform exemplary methods described in the present disclosure. In someembodiments, the storage device 150 may include a mass storage device, aremovable storage device, a volatile read-and-write memory, a read-onlymemory (ROM), or the like, or any combination thereof. Exemplary massstorage may include a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a solid-statedrive, etc. Exemplary removable storage may include a flash drive, afloppy disk, an optical disk, a memory card, a zip disk, a magnetictape, etc. Exemplary volatile read-and-write memory may include a randomaccess memory (RAM). Exemplary RAM may include a dynamic RAM (DRAM), adouble date rate synchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM), a static RAM(SRAM), a thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and a zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM), etc.Exemplary ROM may include a mask ROM (MROM), a programmable ROM (PROM),an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasableprogrammable ROM (EEPROM), a compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), and a digitalversatile disk ROM, etc. In some embodiments, the storage device 150 maybe implemented on a cloud platform. Merely by way of example, the cloudplatform may include a private cloud, a public cloud, a hybrid cloud, acommunity cloud, a distributed cloud, an inter-cloud, a multi-cloud, orthe like, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the storage device 150 may be connected to thenetwork 120 to communicate with one or more other components in the PETimaging system 100 (e.g., the processing engine 140, the terminal(s)130, etc.). One or more components of the PET imaging system 100 mayaccess the data or instructions stored in the storage device 150 via thenetwork 120. In some embodiments, the storage device 150 may be directlyconnected to or communicate with one or more other components in the PETimaging system 100 (e.g., the processing engine 140, the terminal(s)130, etc.). In some embodiments, the storage device 150 may be part ofthe processing engine 140.

FIGS. 2A-2C are schematic diagrams illustrating an exemplary detectormodule 200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Asdescribed in FIG. 1, the detector assembly 112 may include one or moredetector modules. A detector module 200 may include one or more crystalelements (e.g., the scintillator crystal array 210) and one or morephotosensor arrays 220 (e.g., the first photosensor array 220 a, thesecond photosensor array 220 b).

As shown in FIG. 2A, the crystal elements may be configured as ascintillator crystal array 210 (also referred to as scintillator array210). The scintillator array 210 may include one or more scintillators(e.g., the scintillator 210-1, the scintillator 210-2, the scintillator210-3, the scintillator 210-4, etc., as illustrated in FIG. 2B). Ascintillator may scintillate when a radiation ray (e.g., y ray) photoncollides (or impinges) the scintillator. The scintillator may absorb theenergy of the radiation ray (e.g., y ray) photon, and convert theabsorbed energy into light. In some embodiments, the scintillator array210 may include N rows of scintillators and M columns of scintillators.The row count N may be an integer larger than 0. The column count M maybe an integer larger than 0. In some embodiments, N may be equal to M.In some embodiments, N may be different from M. In some embodiments, theN rows of scintillators may be arranged parallel to a first direction(e.g., the X axis direction in FIG. 3A or FIG. 6A) but approximatelyperpendicular to a second direction (e.g., the Y axis direction in FIG.3A or FIG. 6A), while the M columns of scintillators may be arrangedparallel to the second direction but approximately perpendicular to thefirst direction. In some embodiments, the second direction may beapproximately perpendicular to the first direction. In some embodiments,an angle between the first direction and the second direction may bedifferent from 90°. FIG. 2B illustrates an exemplary 4×4 scintillatorarray. The scintillator array 210 may have a first surface 230 and asecond surface 240 opposite to the first surface 230. The first surface230 may be a common face formed by one end of all the scintillators(e.g., a top surface) in the scintillator array 210. The second surface240 may be a common face formed by another end of all the scintillators(e.g., a bottom surface) in the scintillator array 210. In someembodiments, the first surface 230 or the second surface 240 may facethe detection region 113.

A photosensor array 220 (e.g., the first photosensor array 220 a, thesecond photosensor array 220 b) may include one or more photosensors(e.g., the photosensor 220-1, the photosensor 220-2, the photosensor220-3, the photosensor 220-4, etc. as illustrated in FIG. 2C). In someembodiments, the photosensor array 220 may be configured to face thedetection region 113. If the photosensor array 220 is configured to facethe detection region 113, the photosensor array 220 may not blockradiation rays from reaching the scintillator array 210. If thephotosensor array 220 is configured to face the detection region 113,the radiation rays may slightly attenuate before reaching thescintillator array 210. However, the attenuation of the radiation raysmay not affect the detection result of the detector assembly 112. Aphotosensor may convert a light signal (e.g., the light output from ascintillator) to an electrical signal. In some embodiments, aphotosensor may be a photomultiplier tube (PMT), a siliconphotomultiplier (SiPM), etc. The photosensor array(s) 220 may beoptically coupled to the scintillator array 210. As used herein, aphotosensor or a photosensor array being optically coupled to ascintillator or a scintillator array may indicate that an optical signalmay transport between the scintillator or the scintillator array and thephotosensor or the photosensor array. For example, the first photosensorarray 220 a (also referred to as a first set of photosensors) may bearranged on the first surface 230 of the scintillator array 210. Asanother example, the second photosensor array 220 b (also referred to asa second set of photosensors) may be arranged on the second surface 240of the scintillator array 210. In some embodiments, both the firstphotosensor array 220 a and the second photosensor array 220 b may beoptically coupled to the scintillator array 210. In some embodiments,only the first photosensor array 220 a or the second photosensor array220 b may be optically coupled to the scintillator array 210. In someembodiments, a photosensor array 220 may include N′ rows of photosensorsand M′ columns of photosensors. N′ may be an integer larger than 0 butno larger than N. M′ may be an integer larger than 0 but no larger thanM.

In some embodiments, a photosensor may be optically coupled to only onescintillator (see FIGS. 5A-5D). Accordingly, the number of photosensorsin the N′×M′ photosensor array 220 may be the same as that ofscintillators in the N×M scintillator array 210. As illustrated, a 4×4photosensor array (see FIG. 2C) may be optically coupled to a 4×4scintillator array (see FIG. 2B). For example, the photosensor 220-1 maybe optically coupled to the scintillator 210-1, the photosensor 220-2may be optically coupled to the scintillator 210-2, the photosensor220-3 may be optically coupled to the scintillator 210-3, thephotosensor 220-4 may be optically coupled to the scintillator 210-4,and so on. In this case, it may be unnecessary that both the firstphotosensor array 220 a and the second photosensor array 220 b areoptically coupled to the scintillator array 210. In this case, as aphotosensor is optically coupled to an identified scintillator, a hitposition where a radiation ray (e.g., y ray) photon collides thescintillator array 210 may be identified (i.e., a scintillator withinthe scintillator array 210 that has interacted with an impingingradiation ray may be identified) based on the electrical signals thatthe photosensor detects. Therefore, the first photosensor array 220 a orthe second photosensor array 220 b may be sufficient to detect a lightoutput from the scintillator array 210.

In some embodiments, the size (or area) of the entry surface of aphotosensor may be the same as the size (or area) of the exit surface ofan optically coupled scintillator. As used herein, an entry surface of aphotosensor (or photosensor array) may refer to a surface of thephotosensor (or photosensor array) where an optical signal (e.g., anoptical signal from the optically coupled scintillator (or scintillatorarray)) enters the photosensor. As used herein, an exit surface of ascintillator (or scintillator array) may refer to a surface of thescintillator (or scintillator array) where an optical signal exits thescintillator (or scintillator array). In some embodiments, the size (orarea) of the entry surface of a photosensor may be different from (e.g.,smaller or larger than) the size (or area) of the exit surface of anoptically coupled scintillator. For example, the size (or area) of theentry surface of a photosensor may be a fraction (e.g., ¾, ⅔, ½, etc.)of that of an exit surface of an optically coupled scintillator.

In some embodiments, a photosensor may be optically coupled to two ormore scintillators (see FIGS. 3A and 3B, FIGS. 4A-4D, FIGS. 6A and 6B,FIGS. 7A-7D, and FIGS. 8A-8E). In some embodiments, a photosensor may beoptically coupled to at least two scintillators in two adjacent rows ofthe N rows of a scintillator array. In some embodiments, a photosensormay be optically coupled to at least two scintillators in two adjacentcolumns of the M columns of a scintillator array. In some embodiments,at least one of the first set of photosensors (or the first photosensorarray 220 a) may be coupled to two rows of scintillators of the N rows.In some embodiments, an area of a first photosensor of the first set ofphotosensors may be less than a sum of areas of the two rows ofscintillators to which the first photosensor is coupled. In someembodiments, at least one of the second set of photosensors (or thesecond photosensor array 220 b) may be coupled to two columns ofscintillators of the M columns. In some embodiments, an area of a secondphotosensor of the second set of photosensors may be less than a sum ofareas of the two columns of scintillators to which the secondphotosensor is coupled. Accordingly, the number of photosensors in theN′×M′ photosensor array 220 may be less than that of scintillators inthe N×M scintillator array 210. For example, a photosensor may beoptically coupled to i (e.g., 2, 3, 4, etc.) scintillators in a same rowor column. As another example, a photosensor may be optically coupled toa sub-array of i×j (e.g., 2×2, 2×3, 2×4, etc.) scintillators in adjacentrows or columns. In some embodiments, in the photosensor array 220(e.g., the first photosensor array 220 a, the second photosensor array220 b), different photosensors may be optically coupled to differentnumbers of scintillators. Merely by way of example, a photosensor A maybe optically coupled to two scintillators, a photosensor B may beoptically coupled to three scintillators, a photosensor C may beoptically coupled to four scintillators, and the scintillators to whichthe photosensors are coupled may be arranged in different (or the same)rows or columns. In some embodiments, the size (or area) of the entrysurface of a photosensor may be the same as a sum of the sizes (orareas) of the exit surfaces of the scintillators to which thephotosensor is optically coupled. In some embodiments, the size (orarea) of the entry surface of a photosensor may be different from (e.g.,smaller or larger than) a sum of the sizes (or areas) of the exitsurfaces of the scintillators to which the photosensor is coupled. Forexample, the size (or area) of the entry surface of a photosensor may bea fraction (e.g., ¾, ⅔, ½, etc.) of a sum of the sizes (or areas) of theexit surfaces of the scintillators to which the photosensor is opticallycoupled.

In some embodiments, two adjacent photosensors in the first photosensorarray 220 a or the second photosensor array 220 b may be arranged apartby a certain distance. The distance between two adjacent photosensorsmay be no less than the width of a scintillator. In some embodiments,the number of the photosensors in the first photosensor array 220 a (orthe first set of photosensors) or the second photosensor array 220 b (orthe second set of photosensors) may be no less than a half of N, the rowcount of scintilators of the optically coupled scintilator array 210. Insome embodiments, the number of the photosensors in the firstphotosensor array 220 a (or the first set of photosensors) or the secondphotosensor array 220 b (or the second set of photosensors) may be noless than a half of M, the column count of scintilators of the opticallycoupled scintilator array 210.

In some embodiments, if both the first photosensor array 220 a and thesecond photosensor array 220 b are optically coupled to the scintillatorarray 210, the number (or area) of photosensors in the first photosensorarray 220 a and the number (or area) of the second photosensor array 220b may be the same or different. In some embodiments, if both the firstphotosensor array 220 a and the second photosensor array 220 b areoptically coupled to the scintillator array 210, the arrangement ofphotosensors in the first photosensor array 220 a and the secondphotosensor array 220 b may be different. For example, photosensors inthe first photosensor array 220 a may be arranged in the firstdirection, while photosensors in the second photosensor array 220 b maybe arranged in the second direction, and vice versa (see FIGS. 3A and3B, FIGS. 4A-4D, FIGS. 6A and 6B, FIGS. 7A-7D, and FIGS. 8A-8E).

It should be noted that the above description of the detector module 200is merely provided for the purpose of illustration, and not intended tolimit the scope of the present disclosure. For persons having ordinaryskills in the art, multiple variations and modifications may be made tothe detector module 200 under the teachings of the present disclosure.However, those variations and modifications do not depart from the scopeof the present disclosure. For example, one or more light guides may beconfigured between the scintillator array 210 and the photosensor array220 to facilitate light transmission from the scintillator array 210 tothe photosensor array 220.

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary detector module300 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Thedetector module 300 may include a 4×4 scintillator array 210, fourphotosensors (e.g., SiPM) within the first photosensor array 220 a, andfour photosensors (e.g., SiPM) within the second photosensor array 220b.

The 4×4 scintillator array 210 may have a top surface and a bottomsurface both in the X-Y plane. The top surface may face the detectionregion 113. The 16 scintillators within the 4×4 scintillator array 210may be arranged parallel to the Z axis direction. In some embodiments,the Z axis may point to a radial direction of the detection region 113.The 16 scintillators within the 4×4 scintillator array 210 may have thesame height. Four scintillators in each row may be arranged in the Xaxis direction. Four scintillators in each column may be arranged in theY axis direction. In some embodiments, the axial direction of thedetection region 113 may be along the X axis, and the Y axis may beperpendicular to the X axis and the Z axis. In some embodiments, theaxial direction of the detection region 113 may be along the Y axis, andthe X axis may be perpendicular to the Y axis and the Z axis.

The first photosensor array 220 a may be optically coupled to the 4×4scintillator array 210 and arranged on the top surface of thescintillator array 210. The first photosensor array 220 a may includefour photosensors, i.e., the photosensor P_(Y1), the photosensor P_(Y2),the photosensor P_(Y3), and the photosensor P_(Y4). The fourphotosensors P_(Y1), P_(Y2), P_(Y3), and P_(Y4) may be arranged parallelto the X axis direction. The second photosensor array 220 b may beoptically coupled to the 4×4 scintillator array 210 and arranged on thebottom surface of the scintillator array 210. The second photosensorarray 220 b may include four photosensors, i.e., the photosensor P_(X1),the photosensor P_(X2), the photosensor P_(X3), and the photosensorP_(X4). The four photosensors P_(X1), P_(X2), P_(X3), and P_(X4) may bearranged parallel to the Y axis direction. More descriptions of thearrangement of the photosensors P_(Y1), P_(Y2), P_(Y3), P_(Y4), P_(X1),P_(X2), P_(X3), and P_(X4) may be found elsewhere in the presentdisclosure. See, for example, FIGS. 4A-4D and the description thereof.

FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary detector 350according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The detector350 may include one or more detector modules 300. For example, thedetector 350 may include 3×3 detector modules 300. Further, one or moredetectors 350 may be assembled to form the detector assembly 112. Asillustrated in FIG. 3B, the detector 350 may include a 12×12scintillator array, a 12×3 photosensor array 220 a, and a 3×12photosensor array 220 b. In some embodiments, at least two of thephotosensors in the same row (e.g., the photosensor P1, the photosensorP2, and the photosensor P3) may be integrated into one photosensor.

It should be noted that the numbers mentioned in FIGS. 3A and 3B, andthe arrangement of the photosensors are merely provided for the purposeof illustration, and not intended to limit the scope of the presentdisclosure. For example, the detector module 300 may include 5×5scintillators, 6×6 scintillators, 3×4 scintillators, etc. As anotherexample, the detector 350 may include 4×4 detector modules 300, 5×5detector modules 300, 6×8 detector modules 300, etc.

FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a 4×4scintillator array 210 of an exemplary detector module 300 according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. A 3D stereogram of thedetector module 300 may be found in FIG. 3A. As illustrated in FIG. 4A,the 4×4 scintillator array 210 may include 4 rows of scintillatorsincluding, a first row of scintillators S₁₁, S₁₂, S₁₃, and S₁₄, a secondrow of scintillators S₂₁, S₂₂, S₂₃, and S₂₄, a third row ofscintillators S₃₁, S₃₂, S₃₃, and S₃₄, and a fourth row of scintillatorsS₄₁, S₄₂, S₄₃, and S₄₄. The first row of scintillators S₁₁, S₁₂, S₁₃,and S₁₄ may be arranged along the X axis direction. The second row ofscintillators S₂₁, S₂₂, S₂₃, and S₂₄ may be arranged along the X axisdirection. The third row of scintillators S₃₁, S₃₂, S₃₃, and S₃₄ may bearranged along the X axis direction. The fourth row of scintillatorsS₄₁, S₄₂, S₄₃, and S₄₄ may be arranged along the X axis direction. Asillustrated, the 4×4 scintillator array 210 may include 4 columns ofscintillators including, a first column of scintillators S₁₁, S₂₁, S₃₁,and S₄₁, a second column of scintillators S₁₂, S₂₂, S₃₂, and S₄₂, athird column of scintillators S₁₃, S₂₃, S₃₃, and S₄₃, and a fourthcolumn of scintillators S₁₄, S₂₄, S₃₄, and S₄₄. The first column ofscintillators S₁₁, S₂₁, S₃₁, and S₄₁ may be arranged along the Y axisdirection. The second column of scintillators S₁₂, S₂₂, S₃₂, and S₄₂ maybe arranged along the Y axis direction. The third column ofscintillators S₁₃, S₂₃, S₃₃, and S₄₃ may be arranged along the Y axisdirection. The fourth column of scintillators S₁₄, S₂₄, S₃₄, and S₄₄ maybe arranged along the Y axis direction.

In some embodiments, two adjacent scintillators may be separated by acertain distance. The distance between two adjacent scintillators may besmall relative to the dimension of a scintillator in the same directionof the distance and/or the dimension of a photosensor in the samedirection of the distance. For example, the distance between twoadjacent scintillators may be a fraction (e.g., 1/10, 1/20, 1/30, etc.)of the dimension of a scintillator and/or the dimension of a photosensorin the same direction of the distance. In some embodiments, the spacingbetween two adjacent scintillators may be filled with a blockingmaterial (e.g., a light-reflective material in the form of, e.g., films,blocks, etc.). In some embodiments, the spacing between two adjacentscintillators may be void (e.g., vacuum or filled with air, or anothergas).

FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a 4×1 firstphotosensor array 220 a of an exemplary detector module 300 according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. The 4×1 first photosensorarray 220 a may be arranged on a top surface of the 4×4 scintillatorarray 210 shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 4A. As illustrated in FIG. 4B, the4×1 first photosensor array 220 a may include four rows of photosensorsincluding, the first row of photosensor P_(Y1), the second row ofphotosensor P_(Y2), the third row of photosensor P_(Y3), and the fourthrow of photosensor P_(Y4). The photosensor P_(Y1) may be arrangedparallel to the X axis direction. The photosensor P_(Y2) may be arrangedparallel to the X axis direction. The photosensor P_(Y3) may be arrangedparallel to the X axis direction. The photosensor P_(Y4) may be arrangedparallel to the X axis direction. The four photosensors P_(Y1), P_(Y2),P_(Y3), and P_(Y4) may be arranged along the Y axis direction to form acolumn of photosensors. The photosensor P_(Y1) may be optically coupledto the first row of scintillators S₁₁, S₁₂, S₁₃ and S₁₄ shown in FIG.4A. The photosensor P_(Y2) may be optically coupled to the second row ofscintillators S₂₁, S₂₂, S₂₃ and S₂₄ shown in FIG. 4A. The photosensorP_(Y3) may be optically coupled to the third row of scintillators S₃₁,S₃₂, S₃₃ and S₃₄ shown in FIG. 4A. The photosensor P_(Y4) may beoptically coupled to the fourth row of scintillators S₄₁, S₄₂, S₄₃ andS₄₄ shown in FIG. 4A.

In some embodiments, a first length of a photosensor (e.g., thephotosensor P_(Y1), P_(Y2), P_(Y3), or P_(Y4)) along the X axisdirection may be equal to or different from (e.g., less or larger than)a first sum of the lengths of a row of scintillators along the X axisdirection and the spacing there between (if any) along the X axisdirection. For example, the difference between the first length and thefirst sum may be less than the length of two scintillators along the Xaxis direction. In some embodiments, a first width of a photosensor(e.g., the photosensor P_(Y1), P_(Y2), P_(Y3), or P_(Y4)) along the Yaxis direction may be equal to or different from (e.g., less or largerthan) a second width of one scintillator along the Y axis direction. Forexample, the first width may be a fraction (e.g., ¾, ⅔, ½, etc.) of thesecond width. As another example, the first width of a photosensor(e.g., the photosensor P_(Y1), P_(Y2), P_(Y3), or P_(Y4)) along the Yaxis direction may be slightly larger than the second width of onescintillator along the Y axis direction, and the photosensor is free ofcontact along the Y axis direction with or otherwise electricallyinsulated from a neighboring photosensor.

In some embodiments, a 1×4 second photosensor array 220 b (see FIG. 3A)may be arranged on a bottom surface of the 4×4 scintillator array 210shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 4A. The 1×4 second photosensor array 220 bmay include four columns of photosensors including, the first column ofphotosensor P_(X1), the second column of photosensor P_(X2), the thirdcolumn of photosensor P_(X3), and the fourth column of photosensorP_(X4). The photosensor P_(X1) may be arranged parallel to the Y axisdirection. The photosensor P_(X2) may be arranged parallel to the Y axisdirection. The photosensor P_(X3) may be arranged parallel to the Y axisdirection. The photosensor P_(X4) may be arranged parallel to the Y axisdirection. The four photosensors P_(X1), P_(X2), P_(X3), and P_(X4) maybe arranged along the X axis direction to form a row of photosensor. Thephotosensor P_(X1) may be optically coupled to the first column ofscintillators S₁₁, S₂₁, S₃₁ and S₄₁ shown in FIG. 4A. The photosensorP_(X2) may be optically coupled to the second column of scintillatorsS₁₂, S₂₂, S₃₂ and S₄₂ shown in FIG. 4A. The photosensor P_(X3) may beoptically coupled to the third column of scintillators S₁₃, S₂₃, S₃₃ andS₄₃ shown in FIG. 4A. The photosensor P_(X4) may be optically coupled tothe fourth column of scintillators S₁₄, S₂₄, S₃₄ and S₄₄ shown in FIG.4A.

In some embodiments, a second length of a photosensor (e.g., thephotosensor P_(X1), P_(X2), P_(X3), or P_(X4)) along the Y axisdirection may be equal to or different from (e.g., less or larger than)a second sum of the lengths of a column of scintillators along the Yaxis direction and the spacing there between (if any) along the Y axisdirection. For example, the difference between the second length and thesecond sum may be less than the length of two scintillators along the Yaxis direction. In some embodiments, a third width of a photosensor(e.g., the photosensor P_(X1), P_(X2), P_(X3), or P_(X4)) along the Xaxis direction may be equal to or different from (e.g., less or largerthan) a fourth width of one scintillator along the X axis direction. Forexample, the third width may be a fraction (e.g., ¾, ⅔, ½, etc.) of thefourth width. As another example, the third width of a photosensor(e.g., the photosensor P_(X1), P_(X2), P_(X3), or P_(X4)) along the Xaxis direction may be slightly larger than the fourth width of onescintillator along the X axis direction, and the photosensor is free ofcontact along the X axis direction with or otherwise electricallyinsulated from a neighboring photosensor.

FIG. 4C is a schematic diagram illustrating a right view of an exemplarydetector module 300 according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 4C, the photosensor P_(X4) may beoptically coupled to the scintillators S₁₄, S₂₄, S₃₄ and S₄₄. A portionof the photosensor P_(Y1) may be optically coupled to the scintillatorS₁₄. A portion of the photosensor P_(Y2) may be optically coupled to thescintillator S₂₄. A portion of the photosensor P_(Y3) may be opticallycoupled to the scintillator S₃₄. A portion of the photosensor P_(Y4) maybe optically coupled to the scintillator S₄₄. As mentioned above, thelength of the photosensor P_(X4) along the Y axis direction may be equalto or less than a sum of the lengths of a column of scintillators S₁₄,S₂₄, S₃₄, and S₄₄ along the Y axis direction and the spacing therebetween (if any) along the Y axis direction. As mentioned above, thewidth of the photosensor P_(Y1), P_(Y2), P_(Y3), or P_(Y4) along the Yaxis direction may be equal to or less than the width of thescintillator S₁₄, S₂₄, S₃₄, or S₄₄ along the Y axis direction.

FIG. 4D is a schematic diagram illustrating a front view of an exemplarydetector module 300 according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 4D, the photosensor P_(Y1) may beoptically coupled to the scintillators S₁₁, S₁₂, S₁₃, and S₁₄. A portionof the photosensor P_(X1) may be optically coupled to the scintillatorS₁₁. A portion of the photosensor P_(X2) may be optically coupled to thescintillator S₁₂. A portion of the photosensor P_(X3) may be opticallycoupled to the scintillator S₁₃. A portion of the photosensor P_(X4) maybe optically coupled to the scintillator S₁₄. As mentioned above, thelength of the photosensor P_(Y1) along the X axis direction may be equalto or less than a sum of the lengths of a row of scintillators S₁₁, S₁₂,S₁₃, and S₁₄ along the X axis direction and the spacing there between(if any) along the X axis direction. As mentioned above, the width ofthe photosensor P_(X1), P_(X2), P_(X3), or P_(X4) along the X axisdirection may be equal to or less than the width of the scintillatorS₁₁, S₁₂, S₁₃, or S₁₄ along the X axis direction.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4C and 4D, two adjacent photosensors may beseparated by a certain distance. The distance between two adjacentphotosensors may be determined based on the size and/or arrangement ofthe photosensors. For example, the distance between two adjacentphotosensors (e.g., P_(Y1), P_(Y2), P_(Y3), and/or P_(Y4)) may be lessthan the width of the scintillator S₁₄, S₂₄, S₃₄ or S₄₄ along the Y axisdirection. In some embodiments, the spacing 410 between two adjacentphotosensors may be filled with an isolation material (e.g., anelectrical insulating material, polymers, etc.). In some embodiments,the spacing 410 between two adjacent photosensors may be void (e.g.,vacuum or filled with air, or another gas).

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a 4×4scintillator array 210 of an exemplary detector module 500 according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. More descriptions of the 4×4scintillator array 210 may be found elsewhere in the present disclosure.See, for example, FIG. 4A and the description thereof.

FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a 4×4 firstphotosensor array 220 a of an exemplary detector module 500 according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. The 4×4 first photosensorarray 220 a may be arranged on the top surface of the 4×4 scintillatorarray 210 shown in FIG. 5A. The arrangement of the 4×4 first photosensorarray 220 a in the X-Y plane may be similar with the 4×4 scintillatorarray 210 as illustrated in FIG. 5A. The photosensors P₁₁, P₁₂, P₁₃,P₁₄, P₂₁, P₂₂, P₂₃, P₂₄, P₃₁, P₃₂, P₃₃, P₃₄, P₄₁, P₄₂, P₄₃, and P₄₄ maybe optically coupled to the scintillators S₁₁, S₁₂, S₁₃, S₁₄, S₂₁, S₂₂,S₂₃, S₂₄, S₃₁, S₃₂, S₃₃, S₃₄, S₄₁, S₄₂, S₄₃, and S₄₄ respectively.

In some embodiments, a 4×4 second photosensor array 220 b may beoptically coupled to the 4×4 scintillator array 210 shown in FIG. 5A.The 4×4 second photosensor array 220 b may include 16 photosensors P′₁₁,P′₁₂, P′₁₃, P′₁₄, P′₂₁, P′₂₂, P′₂₃, P′₂₄, P′₃₁, P′₃₂, P′₃₃, P′₃₄, P′₄₁,P′₄₂, P′₄₃, and P′₄₄. The 4×4 second photosensor array 220 b may bearranged on the bottom surface of the 4×4 scintillator array 210 shownin FIG. 5A. The arrangement of the 4×4 second photosensor array 220 b inthe X-Y plane may be similar to the 4×4 scintillator array 210 asillustrated in FIG. 5A. The photosensors P′₁₁, P′₁₂, P′₁₃, P′₁₄, P′₂₁,P′₂₂, P′₂₃, P′₂₄, P′₃₁, P′₃₂, P′₃₃, P′₃₄, P′₄₁, P′₄₂, P′₄₃, and P′₄₄ maybe optically coupled to the scintillators S₁₁, S₁₂, S₁₃, S₁₄, S₂₁, S₂₂,S₂₃, S₂₄, S₃₁, S₃₂, S₃₃, S₃₄, S₄₁, S₄₂, S₄₃, and S₄₄, respectively.

FIG. 5C is a schematic diagram illustrating a right view of an exemplarydetector module 500 according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 5D is a schematic diagram illustrating a front view ofan exemplary detector module 500 according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The spacing 510 between two adjacent photosensorsmay be similar to the spacing 410 illustrated in FIGS. 4C and 4D.

It should be noted that the numbers mentioned in FIGS. 5A-5D, and thearrangement of the photosensors and the scintillators are merelyprovided for the purpose of illustration, and not intended to limit thescope of the present disclosure. For persons having ordinary skills inthe art, multiple variations and modifications may be made to thedetector module 500 under the teachings of the present disclosure.However, those variations and modifications do not depart from the scopeof the present disclosure. For example, the 4×4 first photosensor array220 a or the 4×4 second photosensor array 220 b may be unnecessary. Asanother example, the 4×4 first photosensor array 220 a or the 4×4 secondphotosensor array 220 b may be replaced by a 4×1 photosensor array 220or a 1×4 photosensor array 220 as illustrated in FIGS. 4B-4D.

FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary detector module600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Thedetector module 600 may include a 4×4 scintillator array 210, twophotosensors (e.g., SiPM) within the first photosensor array 220 a, andtwo photosensors (e.g., SiPM) within the second photosensor array 220 b.More descriptions of the 4×4 scintillator array 210 may be foundelsewhere in the present disclosure. See, for example, FIG. 3A and thedescription thereof.

The first photosensor array 220 a may be optically coupled to the 4×4scintillator array 210 and arranged on the top surface. The firstphotosensor array 220 a may include two photosensors, i.e., thephotosensor P_(Y1) and the photosensor P_(Y2). The two photosensorsP_(Y1) and P_(Y2) may both be arranged parallel to the X axis direction.The second photosensor array 220 b may be optically coupled to the 4×4scintillator array 210 and arranged on the bottom surface. The secondphotosensor array 220 b may include two photosensors, i.e., thephotosensor P_(X1) and the photosensor P_(X2). The two photosensorsP_(X1) and P_(X2) may both be arranged parallel to the Y axis direction.More descriptions of the arrangement of the photosensors P_(Y1), P_(Y2),P_(X1), and P_(X2) may be found elsewhere in the present disclosure.See, for example, FIGS. 7A-7D and the description thereof.

FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary detector 650according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The detector650 may include one or more detector modules 600. For example, thedetector 650 may include 3×3 detector modules 600. Further, one or moredetectors 650 may be assembled to form the detector assembly 112. Asillustrated in FIG. 6B, the detector 650 may include a 12×12scintillator array, a 6×3 photosensor array 220 a, a 3×6 photosensorarray 220 b. In some embodiments, the photosensors in the same row(e.g., the photosensor P4, the photosensor P5, and the photosensor P6)may be integrated into one photosensor.

It should be noted that the numbers mentioned in FIGS. 6A and 6B, andthe arrangement of the photosensors are merely provided for the purposeof illustration, and not intended to limit the scope of the presentdisclosure. For example, the detector module 600 may include 5×5scintillators, 6×6 scintillators, 3×4 scintillators, etc. As anotherexample, the detector 650 may include 4×4 detector modules 600, 5×5detector modules 600, 6×8 detector modules 600, etc.

FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a 4×4scintillator array 210 of an exemplary detector module 600 according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. A 3D stereogram of thedetector module 600 may be shown in FIG. 6A. More descriptions of the4×4 scintillator array 210 may be found elsewhere in the presentdisclosure. See, for example, FIG. 4A and the description thereof.

FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a 2×1 firstphotosensor array 220 a of an exemplary detector module 600 according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. The 2×1 first photosensorarray 220 a may be arranged on a top surface of the 4×4 scintillatorarray 210 shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 7A. As illustrated in FIG. 7B, the2×1 first photosensor array 220 a may include two rows of photosensorsincluding, the first row of photosensor P_(Y1) and the second row ofphotosensor P_(Y2). The photosensor P_(Y1) may be arranged parallel tothe X axis direction. The photosensor P_(Y2) may be arranged parallel tothe X axis direction. The two photosensors P_(Y1) and P_(Y2) may bearranged along the Y axis direction to form a column of photosensors.The photosensor P_(Y1) may be optically coupled to the first row ofscintillators S₁₁, S₁₂, S₁₃, S₁₄, and the second row of scintillatorsS₂₁, S₂₂, S₂₃, S₂₄ shown in FIG. 7A. The photosensor P_(Y2) may beoptically coupled to the third row of scintillators S₃₁, S₃₂, S₃₃, S₃₄and the fourth row of scintillators S₄₁, S₄₂, S₄₃, S₄₄ shown in FIG. 7A.

In some embodiments, a first length of a photosensor (e.g., thephotosensor P_(Y1) or P_(Y2)) along the X axis direction may be equal toor different from (e.g., less or larger than) a first sum of the lengthsof a row of scintillators along the X axis direction and the spacingthere between (if any) along the X axis direction. For example, thedifference between the first length and the first sum may be less thanthe length of two scintillators along the X axis direction. In someembodiments, a first width of a photosensor (e.g., the photosensorP_(Y1) or P_(Y2)) along the Y axis direction may be equal to ordifferent from (e.g., less or larger than) a second width of onescintillator along the Y axis direction. For example, the first widthmay be a fraction (e.g., ¾, ⅔, ½, etc.) of the second width. Therefore,at least one portion of a scintillator may not be covered by aphotosensor. In some embodiments, the area of the photosensor P_(Y1) maybe a fraction (e.g., ¾, ⅔, ½, etc.) of a sum of areas of thescintillators to which the photosensor P_(Y1) is optically coupled(i.e., scintillators S₁₁, S₁₂, S₁₃, S₁₄, S₂₁, S₂₂, S₂₃, and S₂₄). Insome embodiments, the area of the photosensor P_(Y2) may be a fraction(e.g., ¾, ⅔, ½, etc.) of a sum of areas of the scintillators to whichthe photosensor P_(Y2) is optically coupled (i.e., scintillators S₃₁,S₃₂, S₃₃, S₃₄, S₄₁, S₄₂, S₄₃, and S₄₄). As another example, the firstwidth of a photosensor (e.g., the photosensor P_(Y1) or P_(Y2)) alongthe Y axis direction may be slightly larger than the second width of onescintillator along the Y axis direction, and the photosensor is free ofcontact along the Y axis direction with or otherwise electricallyinsulated from a neighboring photosensor.

In some embodiments, a 1×2 second photosensor array 220 b (see FIG. 6A)may be arranged on a bottom surface of the 4×4 scintillator array 210shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 7A. The 1×2 second photosensor array 220 bmay include two columns of photosensors including, the first column ofphotosensor P_(X1) and the second column of photosensor P_(X2). Thephotosensor P_(X1) may be arranged parallel to the Y axis direction. Thephotosensor P_(X2) may be arranged parallel to the Y axis direction. Thetwo photosensors P_(X1) and P_(X2) may be arranged along the X axisdirection to form a row of photosensors. The photosensor P_(X1) may beoptically coupled to the first column of scintillators S₁₁, S₂₁, S₃₁,S₄₁ and the second column of scintillators S₁₂, S₂₂, S₃₂, S₄₂ shown inFIG. 7A. The photosensor P_(X2) may be optically coupled to the thirdcolumn of scintillators S₁₃, S₂₃, S₃₃, S₄₃ and the fourth column ofscintillators S₁₄, S₂₄, S₃₄, S₄₄ shown in FIG. 7A.

In some embodiments, a second length of a photosensor (e.g., thephotosensor P_(X1) or P_(X2)) along the Y axis direction may be equal toor different from (e.g., less or larger than) a second sum of thelengths of a column of scintillators along the Y axis direction and thespacing there between (if any) along the Y axis direction. For example,the difference between the second length and the second sum may be lessthan the length of two scintillators along the Y axis direction. In someembodiments, a third width of a photosensor (e.g., the photosensorP_(X1) or P_(X2)) along the X axis direction may be equal to ordifferent from (e.g., less or larger than) a fourth width of onescintillator along the X axis direction. For example, the third widthmay be a fraction (e.g., ¾, ⅔, ½, etc.) of the fourth width. As anotherexample, the third width of a photosensor (e.g., the photosensor P_(X1)or P_(X2)) along the X axis direction may be slightly larger than thefourth width of one scintillator along the X axis direction, and thephotosensor is free of contact along the X axis direction with orotherwise electrically insulated from a neighboring photosensor.

FIG. 7C is a schematic diagram illustrating a right view of an exemplarydetector module 600 according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 7C, a portion of the photosensorP_(X2) may be optically coupled to the scintillators S₁₄, S₂₄, S₃₄ andS₄₄. A portion of the photosensor P_(Y1) may be optically coupled to thescintillators S₁₄ and S₂₄. A portion of the photosensor P_(Y2) may beoptically coupled to the scintillators S₃₄ and S₄₄. As mentioned above,the length of the photosensor P_(X2) along the Y axis direction may beequal to or less than a sum of the lengths of a column of scintillatorsS₁₄, S₂₄, S₃₄ and S₄₄ along the Y axis direction and the spacing therebetween (if any) along the Y axis direction. As mentioned above, thewidth of the photosensor P_(Y1) (or P_(Y2)) along the Y axis directionmay be equal to or less than the width of the scintillator S₁₄, S₂₄,S₃₄, or S₄₄ along the Y axis direction.

FIG. 7D is a schematic diagram illustrating a front view of an exemplarydetector module 600 according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 7D, a portion of the photosensorP_(Y1) may be optically coupled to the scintillators S₁₁, S₁₂, S₁₃ andS₁₄. A portion of the photosensor P_(X1) may be optically coupled to thescintillators S₁₁ and S₁₂. A portion of the photosensor P_(X2) may beoptically coupled to the scintillators S₁₃ and S₁₄. As mentioned above,the length of the photosensor P_(Y1) along the X axis direction may beequal to or less than a sum of the lengths of a row of scintillatorsS₁₁, S₁₂, S₁₃ and S₁₄ along the X axis direction and the spacing therebetween (if any) along the X axis direction. As mentioned above, thewidth of the photosensor P_(X1) or P_(X2) along the X axis direction maybe equal to or less than the width of the scintillator S₁₁, S₁₂, S₁₃ orS₁₄ along the X axis direction.

As illustrated in FIGS. 7C and 7D, two adjacent photosensors may beseparated by a certain distance. The distance between two adjacentphotosensors may be determined based on the size and/or arrangement ofthe photosensors. For example, the distance between two adjacentphotosensors P_(Y1) and P_(Y2) may be larger than the width of thescintillator S₁₄, S₂₄, S₃₄ or S₄₄ along the Y axis direction. In someembodiments, the spacing 710 between two adjacent photosensors may befilled with an isolation material (e.g., an electrical insulatingmaterial, polymers, etc.). In some embodiments, the spacing 710 betweentwo adjacent photosensors may be void (e.g., vacuum or filled with air,or another gas).

FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a 4×4scintillator array 210 of an exemplary detector module 800 according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. More descriptions of the 4×4scintillator array 210 may be found elsewhere in the present disclosure.See, for example, FIG. 4A and the description thereof.

FIG. 8B is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a 2×4 firstphotosensor array 220 a of an exemplary detector module 800 according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. The 2×4 first photosensorarray 220 a may be arranged on a top surface of the 4×4 scintillatorarray 210 shown in FIG. 8A. As illustrated in FIG. 8B, the 2×4 firstphotosensor array 220 a may include two rows of photosensors including,the first row of photosensors (i.e., P₁₁, P₁₂, P₁₃, P₁₄), and the secondrow of photosensors (i.e., P₂₁, P₂₂, P₂₃, P₂₄). The first (or second)row of photosensors may be arranged along the X axis direction. The 2×4first photosensor array 220 a may include four columns of photosensorsincluding, the first column of photosensors (i.e., P₁₁, P₂₁), the secondcolumn of photosensors (i.e., P₁₂, P₂₂), the third column ofphotosensors (i.e., P₁₃, P₂₃), and the fourth column of photosensors(i.e., P₁₄, P₂₄). The first (second, third, or fourth) column ofphotosensors may be arranged along the Y axis direction.

The photosensor P₁₁ may be optically coupled to the scintillators S₁₁and S₂₁ shown in FIG. 7A. The photosensor P₁₂ may be optically coupledto the scintillators S₁₂ and S₂₂ shown in FIG. 7A. The photosensor P₁₃may be optically coupled to the scintillators S₁₃ and S₂₃ shown in FIG.7A. The photosensor P₁₄ may be optically coupled to the scintillatorsS₁₄ and S₂₄ shown in FIG. 7A. The photosensor P₂₁ may be opticallycoupled to the scintillators S₃₁ and S₄₁ shown in FIG. 7A. Thephotosensor P₂₂ may be optically coupled to the scintillators S₃₂ andS₄₂ shown in FIG. 7A. The photosensor P₂₃ may be optically coupled tothe scintillators S₃₃ and S₄₃ shown in FIG. 7A. The photosensor P₂₄ maybe optically coupled to the scintillators S₃₄ and S₄₄ shown in FIG. 7A.

In some embodiments, a length of a photosensor (e.g., the photosensorP₁₁, P₁₂, P₁₃, P₁₄, P₂₁, P₂₂, P₂₃, or P₂₄) along the X axis directionmay be equal to or different from (e.g., less or larger than) the widthof a scintillator within the 4×4 scintillator array 210. In someembodiments, a width of a photosensor (e.g., the photosensor P₁₁, P₁₂,P₁₃, P₁₄, P₂₁, P₂₂, P₂₃, or P₂₄) along the Y axis direction may be equalto or different from (e.g., less or larger than) a sum of widths alongthe Y axis direction of the scintillators to which the photosensor isoptically coupled to. For example, the width may be a fraction (e.g., ¾,⅔, ½, etc.) of the sum. Therefore, at least one portion of ascintillator may not be covered by a photosensor. In some embodiments,the area of a photosensor (e.g., P₁₁) may be a fraction (e.g., ¾, ⅔, ½,etc.) of a sum of areas of the scintillators (e.g., S₁₁ and S₂₁) towhich the photosensor is optically coupled. As another example, thewidth of a photosensor (e.g., the photosensor P₁₁, P₁₂, P₁₃, P₁₄, P₂₁,P₂₂, P₂₃, or P₂₄) along the Y axis direction may be slightly larger thanthe sum of widths along the Y axis direction of the scintillators towhich the photosensor is optically coupled to, and the photosensor isfree of contact along the Y axis direction with or otherwiseelectrically insulated from a neighboring photosensor.

FIG. 8C is a schematic diagram illustrating a bottom view of a 4×2second photosensor array 220 b of an exemplary detector module 800according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The 4×2 secondphotosensor array 220 b may include four rows of photosensors including,the first row of photosensors (i.e., P₃₁, P₄₁), the second row ofphotosensors (i.e., P₃₂, P₄₂), the third row of photosensors (i.e., P₃₃,P₄₃), and the fourth row of photosensors (i.e., P₃₄, P₄₄). The first(second, third, or fourth) row of photosensors may be arranged along theX axis direction. The 4×2 second photosensor array 220 b may include twocolumns of photosensors including, the first column of photosensors(i.e., P₃₁, P₃₂, P₃₃, P₃₄), and the second column of photosensors (i.e.,P₄₁, P₄₂, P₄₃, P₄₄). The first (or second) column of photosensors may bearranged along the Y axis direction.

The photosensor P₃₁ may be optically coupled to the scintillators S₁₁and S₁₂ shown in FIG. 7A. The photosensor P₃₂ may be optically coupledto the scintillators S₂₁ and S₂₂ shown in FIG. 7A. The photosensor P₃₃may be optically coupled to the scintillators S₃₁ and S₃₂ shown in FIG.7A. The photosensor P₃₄ may be optically coupled to the scintillatorsS₄₁ and S₄₂ shown in FIG. 7A. The photosensor P₄₁ may be opticallycoupled to the scintillators S₁₃ and S₁₄ shown in FIG. 7A. Thephotosensor P₄₂ may be optically coupled to the scintillators S₂₃ andS₂₄ shown in FIG. 7A. The photosensor P₄₃ may be optically coupled tothe scintillators S₃₃ and S₃₄ shown in FIG. 7A. The photosensor P₄₄ maybe optically coupled to the scintillators S₄₃ and S₄₄ shown in FIG. 7A.

In some embodiments, a width of a photosensor (e.g., the photosensorP₃₁, P₃₂, P₃₃, P₃₄, P₄₁, P₄₂, P₄₃, or P₄₄) along the Y axis directionmay be equal to or different from (e.g., less or larger than) the widthof a scintillator within the 4×4 scintillator array 210. In someembodiments, a length of a photosensor (e.g., the photosensor P₃₁, P₃₂,P₃₃, P₃₄, P₄₁, P₄₂, P₄₃, or P₄₄) along the X axis direction may be equalto or different from (e.g., less or larger than) a sum of lengths alongthe X axis direction of the scintillators to which the photosensor isoptically coupled to. For example, the length may be a fraction (e.g.,¾, ⅔, ½, etc.) of the sum. Therefore, at least one portion of ascintillator may not be covered by a photosensor. In some embodiments,the area of a photosensor (e.g., P₃₁) may be a fraction (e.g., ¾, ⅔, ½,etc.) of a sum of areas of the scintillators (e.g., S₁₁ and S₁₂) towhich the photosensor is coupled. As another example, the length of aphotosensor (e.g., the photosensor P₃₁, P₃₂, P₃₃, P₃₄, P₄₁, P₄₂, P₄₃, orP₄₄) along the X axis direction may be slightly larger than the sum oflengths along the X axis direction of the scintillators to which thephotosensor is optically coupled to, and the photosensor is free ofcontact along the X axis direction with or otherwise electricallyinsulated from a neighboring photosensor.

FIG. 8D is a schematic diagram illustrating a right view of an exemplarydetector module 800 according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 8D, a portion of the photosensor P₄₁(P₄₂, P₄₃, or P₄₄) may be optically coupled to the scintillator S₁₄(S₂₄, S₃₄, or S₄₄). The photosensor P₁₄ (or P₂₄) may be opticallycoupled to the scintillators S₁₄ and S₂₄ (or, S₃₄ and S₄₄). FIG. 8E is aschematic diagram illustrating a front view of an exemplary detectormodule 800 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Asillustrated in FIG. 8E, a portion of the photosensor P₁₁ (P₁₂, P₁₃, orP₁₄) may be optically coupled to the scintillator S₁₁ (S₁₂, S₁₃, orS₁₄). The photosensor P₃₁ (or P₄₁) may be optically coupled to thescintillators Suu and S₁₂ (or, S₁₃ and S₁₄).

As illustrated in FIGS. 8D and 8E, two adjacent photosensors may beseparated by a certain distance. The distance between two adjacentphotosensors may be determined based on the size and/or arrangement ofthe photosensors. For example, the distance between two adjacentphotosensors P₄₁ and P₄₂ may be less than the width of the scintillatorS₁₄, S₂₄, S₃₄, or S₄₄ along the Y axis direction. As another example,the distance between two adjacent photosensors P₁₄ and P₂₄ may be largerthan the width of the scintillator S₁₄, S₂₄, S₃₄, or S₄₄ along the Yaxis direction. In some embodiments, the spacing 810 between twoadjacent photosensors may be filled with an isolation material (e.g., anelectrical insulating material, polymers, etc.). In some embodiments,the spacing 810 between two adjacent photosensors may be void (e.g.,vacuum or filled with air, or another gas).

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary processingengine 140 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Theprocessing engine 140 may include an acquisition module 902, a controlmodule 904, a processing module 906, a storage module 908, and anelectronics module 910.

The acquisition module 902 may acquire data or signal. In someembodiments, the acquisition module 902 may acquire the data from thescanner 110, the storage device 150, the terminal(s) 130, and/or anexternal data source (not shown). In some embodiments, the data mayinclude image data, instructions, or the like, or a combination thereof.For example, the image data may be generated based on the radiation rays(e.g., y rays) that emit from a subject positioned in the detectionregion 113. In some embodiments, the image data may include informationrelating to energy of the radiation rays (e.g., y rays), informationrelating to a hit position of impinging radiation rays (e.g., y rays) inthe scintillator array 210, and/or information relating to a hit time ofimpinging radiation rays (e.g., y rays) in the scintillator array 210.The instructions may be executed by the processor(s) of the processingengine 140 to perform exemplary methods described in this disclosure. Insome embodiments, the acquired data may be transmitted to the storagemodule 908 for storing.

Control module 904 may generate one or more control parameters forcontrolling the acquisition module 902, the processing module 906, thestorage module 908, and/or the electronics module 910. For example, thecontrol module 904 may control the acquisition module 902 as to whetherto acquire a signal, the time when a signal acquisition may occur, orthe frequency to acquire a signal. As another example, the controlmodule 904 may control the processing module 906 to select differentalgorithms to process the data or signal acquired by the acquisitionmodule 902. In some embodiments, the control module 904 may receive areal-time or a predetermined command provided by a user (e.g., a doctor,a technician, etc.) and adjust the acquisition module 902, and/or theprocessing module 906 to generate images of a subject according to thereceived command. In some embodiments, the control module 904 maycommunicate with other modules in the PET imaging system 100 forexchanging information or data.

The processing module 906 may process information provided by variousmodules of the processing engine 140. The processing module 906 mayprocess data or signal acquired by the acquisition module 902, dataretrieved from the storage module 908, etc. In some embodiments, theprocessing module 906 may reconstruct one or more images based on thedata or signal according to a reconstruction technique, generate reportsincluding the one or more images and/or other related information,and/or perform any other function for image reconstruction. In someembodiments, the processing module 906 may be configured to reconstructan image based on a first set of electrical signals generated by a firstset of photosensors and a second set of electrical signals generated bya second set of photosensors.

The storage module 908 may store data or signal, control parameter(s),processed data or signal, or the like, or a combination thereof. In someembodiments, the storage module 908 may store one or more programsand/or instructions that may be executed by the processor(s) of theprocessing engine 140 to perform exemplary methods described in thisdisclosure. For example, the storage module 908 may store program(s)and/or instruction(s) that may be executed by the processor(s) of theprocessing engine 140 to acquire data or signal, reconstruct an imagebased on the data or signal, and/or display any intermediate result or aresultant image.

The electronics module 910 may provide electronics support for theimplementation of the processing engine 140. In some embodiments, theelectronics module 910 may provide electronics support for theacquisition module 902 and/or the processing module 906. The electronicsmodule 910 may collect and/or process the electrical signals generatedby the detector assembly 112. The electronics module 910 may include anadder, a multiplier, a subtracter, an amplifier, a drive circuit, adifferential circuit, a integral circuit, a counter, a filter, one ormore analog-to-digital converters (ADC), a lower limit detection (LLD)circuit, a constant fraction discriminator (CFD) circuit, atime-to-digital converter (TDC), or the like, or any combinationthereof. The electronics module 910 may convert an analog signalrelating to an energy of radiation rays received by the scintillatorarray 210 to a digital signal. In some embodiments, theanalog-to-digital converter(s) (ADC) may be configured to digitize afirst set of electrical signals and a second set of electrical signals.In some embodiments, a time-to-digital converter (TDC) may be configuredto determine an interaction time when an impinging radiation rayinteracts with an identified scintillator. The electronics module 910may compare a plurality of digital signals, analyze the plurality ofdigital signals, and determine a hit position and/or a hit time of thedetected radiation rays in the scintillator array 210. In someembodiments, the electronics module 910 may couple to the first set ofphotosensors (e.g., the first photosensor array 220 a) and/or the secondset of photosensors (e.g., the second photosensor array 220 b). In someembodiments, the electronics module 910 may detect a first set ofelectrical signals generated by the first set of photosensors and asecond set of electrical signals generated by the second set ofphotosensors. In some embodiments, the electronics module 910 mayidentify a scintillator within the scintillator array that hasinteracted with an impinging radiation ray relating to an electricalsignal of the first set of electrical signals or the second set ofelectrical signals. In some embodiments, the electronics module 910 mayfurther determine a depth of interaction of the impinging radiation rayin the identified scintillator. In some embodiments, the electronicsmodule 910 may further include a time correction unit configured tocorrect the interaction time based on the depth of interaction of animpinging radiation ray. More descriptions of the electronics module 910may be found elsewhere in the present disclosure. See, for example,FIGS. 12-14 and the description thereof.

In some embodiments, one or more modules illustrated in FIG. 9 may beimplemented in at least part of the exemplary PET imaging system 100 asillustrated in FIG. 1. For example, the acquisition module 902, thecontrol module 904, the storage module 908, the processing module 906,and/or the electronics module 910 may be integrated into a console (notshown). Via the console, a user may set the parameters for scanning asubject, acquiring data or signal, view a result in the form of, e.g.,an image, text, a table, a curve, etc. In some embodiments, the consolemay be implemented via the processing engine 140 and/or an externaldevice (not shown).

In some embodiments, the processing engine 140 may be implemented by acomputing device. In some embodiments, the processing engine 140, or aportion of the processing engine 140 may be integrated into the scanner110. In some embodiments, a computing device may include a processor, astorage, an input/output (I/O), and a communication port. The processormay execute computer instructions (e.g., program code) and performfunctions of the processing engine 140 in accordance with techniquesdescribed herein. The computer instructions may include, for example,routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures,modules, and functions, which perform particular functions describedherein. In some embodiments, the processor may include one or morehardware processors, such as a microcontroller, a microprocessor, areduced instruction set computer (RISC), an application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs), an application-specific instruction-setprocessor (ASIP), a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processingunit (GPU), a physics processing unit (PPU), a microcontroller unit, adigital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA),an advanced RISC machine (ARM), a programmable logic device (PLD), anycircuit or processor capable of executing one or more functions, or thelike, or any combinations thereof.

The storage may store data/information obtained from the scanner 110,the terminal(s) 130, the storage 150, and/or any other component of theimaging system 100. In some embodiments, the storage may include a massstorage, a removable storage, a volatile read-and-write memory, aread-only memory (ROM), or the like, or any combination thereof. Forexample, the mass storage may include a magnetic disk, an optical disk,a solid-state drives, etc. The removable storage may include a flashdrive, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a memory card, a zip disk, amagnetic tape, etc. The volatile read-and-write memory may include arandom access memory (RAM). The RAM may include a dynamic RAM (DRAM), adouble date rate synchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM), a static RAM(SRAM), a thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and a zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM), etc.The ROM may include a mask ROM (MROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), anerasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmableROM (EEPROM), a compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), and a digital versatile diskROM, etc. In some embodiments, the storage may store one or moreprograms and/or instructions to perform exemplary methods described inthe present disclosure.

The I/O may input and/or output signals, data, information, etc. In someembodiments, the I/O may enable a user interaction with the processingengine 140. In some embodiments, the I/O may include an input device andan output device. Examples of the input device may include a keyboard, amouse, a touch screen, a microphone, or the like, or a combinationthereof. Examples of the output device may include a display device, aloudspeaker, a printer, a projector, or the like, or a combinationthereof. Examples of the display device may include a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED)-based display, a flat paneldisplay, a curved screen, a television device, a cathode ray tube (CRT),a touch screen, or the like, or a combination thereof.

The communication port may be connected to a network (e.g., the network120) to facilitate data communications. The communication port mayestablish connections between the processing engine 140 and the scanner110, the terminal(s) 130, and/or the storage 150. The connection may bea wired connection, a wireless connection, any other communicationconnection that can enable data transmission and/or reception, and/orany combination of these connections. The wired connection may include,for example, an electrical cable, an optical cable, a telephone wire, orthe like, or any combination thereof. The wireless connection mayinclude, for example, a Bluetooth™ link, a Wi-Fi™ link, a WiMax™ link, aWLAN link, a ZigBee link, a mobile network link (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G,etc.), or the like, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, thecommunication port may be and/or include a standardized communicationport, such as RS232, RS485, etc. In some embodiments, the communicationport may be a specially designed communication port. For example, thecommunication port may be designed in accordance with the digitalimaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) protocol.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary acquisitionmodule 902 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Theacquisition module 902 may include an electrical signal collection unit1002, a position decoding unit 1004, a time determination unit 1006, anda time correction unit 1008.

The electrical signal collection unit 1002 may collect electricalsignals generated by the detector assembly 112 or a portion thereof(e.g., the photosensor array 220). In some embodiments, the electricalsignal collection unit 1002 may be implemented by one or more ADCs. Theelectrical signal collection unit 1002 may digitize the electricalsignals. In some embodiments, the electrical signal collection unit 1002may collect electrical signals at a certain frequency. The frequency maybe at a Hertz (Hz) level, an MHz level, 1000 MHz level, or any levelthereof.

The position decoding unit 1004 may identify information relating to aninteraction position of a radiation ray (e.g., y ray) impinging on thescintillator array 210. The information relating to the interactionposition may include a two-dimensional position (x, y) in the X-Y planewhere the impinging radiation ray (e.g., y ray) interacts with thescintillator array 210. More descriptions of the two-dimensionalposition (x, y) may be found elsewhere in the present disclosure. See,for example, FIGS. 12A-12C and the description thereof. The positiondecoding unit 1004 may identify a scintillator within the scintillatorarray 210 that has interacted with the impinging radiation ray based onthe two-dimensional position. The information relating to theinteraction position may further include a depth of interaction of theimpinging radiation ray in the identified scintillator. In someembodiments, the position decoding unit 1004 may determine a depth ofinteraction of the impinging radiation ray. The position decoding unit1004 may identify the information relating to the interaction positionbase on the electrical signals collected by the electrical signalcollection unit 1002. It should be noted that in some embodiments, theposition decoding unit 1004 may be configured in the electronics module910.

The time determination unit 1006 may determine an interaction time whenthe impinging radiation ray interacts with the identified scintillator.The time determination unit 1006 may determine the interaction timebased on the electrical signals collected by the electrical signalcollection unit 1002. More descriptions of the time determination unit1006 may be found elsewhere in the present disclosure. See, for example,FIG. 13 and the description thereof.

The time correction unit 1008 may correct the interaction timedetermined by the time determination unit 1006. In some embodiments, thetime correction unit 1008 may correct the interaction time based on thedepth of interaction. In some embodiments, the time correction unit 1008may correct the interaction time based on one or more time correctiontechniques (e.g., time walk correction). In some embodiments, the timecorrection unit 1008 may be configured in the electronics module 910 tocorrect the interaction time based on the depth of interaction of animpinging radiation ray. More descriptions of the time correction unit1008 may be found elsewhere in the present disclosure. See, for example,FIG. 14 and the description thereof.

In some embodiments, the interaction time determined by the timedetermination unit 1006 or corrected by the time correction unit 1008may be used for determining a time of flight of the impinging radiationray. In some embodiments, the processing module 906 may generate one ormore lines of response (LORs) in PET imaging based on the informationrelating to the interaction position and the interaction time. The term“interaction position” and the term “hit position” are usedinterchangeably in the present disclosure. The term “interaction time”and the term “hit time” are used interchangeably in the presentdisclosure. In some embodiments, the depth of interaction may be usedfor improving the accuracy of a line of response (LOR). In someembodiments, the processing module 906 may further reconstruct an imagebased on the line(s) of response (LOR).

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 1100 for PETimaging according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Atleast a portion of the process 1100 may be implemented on the scanner110. At least a portion of the process 1100 may be implemented on acomputing device. For example, the process 1100 illustrated in FIG. 11may be stored in the storage device 150 in the form of instructions, andinvoked and/or executed by the processing engine 140.

In 1101, a plurality of radiation rays may be detected using ascintillator array. A plurality of radiation rays may impinge on ascintillator array (e.g., the scintillator array 210 shown in FIGS.2-8E). The radiation rays may be y rays that emit from a subject in thedetection region 113. Before scanning, a radioactive tracer isotope maybe injected into the subject. One or more atoms of the tracer isotopemay be chemically incorporated into one or more biologically activemolecules in the subject. The active molecules may become concentratedin one or more tissues of interest within the subject. The subject maybe positioned on the table 114 and moved into the detection region 113to make the tissue(s) of interest positioned in a field of view (FOV) ofthe scanner 110. The tracer isotope may undergo positron emission decayand emit one or more positrons. A positron may travel a short distance(e.g., about 1 mm) within a tissue of interest, lose kinetic energy andinteract with an electron of the subject. The positron and the electronmay annihilate and produce a pair of annihilation photons. The pair ofannihilation photons (or radiation rays) may move in approximatelyopposite directions. A plurality of radiation rays may reach thedetector assembly 112 and impinge on the scintillator array 210. Then,the scintillator array 210 may absorb the energy of the radiation ray(e.g., y ray) photon, and convert the absorbed energy into light.

In 1103, a first set of electrical signals may be generated based on theplurality of radiation rays detected in 1101 using a first set ofphotosensors. In some embodiments, the first set of electrical signalsmay be generated by a first photosensor array including a first set ofphotosensors (e.g., the first photosensor array 220 a). The firstphotosensor array may be optically coupled to the scintillator arrayconfigured to detect impinging radiation rays. The first set ofphotosensors may convert light signal(s) (e.g., the light(s) output fromthe scintillator array) into the first set of electrical signals.

In 1105, a second set of electrical signals may be generated based onthe plurality of radiation rays detected in 1101 using a second set ofphotosensors. In some embodiments, the second set of electrical signalsmay be generated by a second photosensor array including a second set ofphotosensors (e.g., the second photosensor array 220 b). The secondphotosensor array may be optically coupled to the scintillator arrayconfigured to detect impinging radiation rays. In some embodiments, thesecond photosensor array may be optically coupled to the samescintillator array as the first photosensor array. The second set ofphotosensors may convert light signal(s) (e.g., the light(s) output fromthe scintillator array) into the second set of electrical signals.

The second photosensor array may be configured differently compared tothe first photosensor array. As described elsewhere in the presentdisclosure, the first photosensor array 220 a and the second photosensorarray 220 b may be arranged on different surfaces of the scintillatorarray 210. The orientation of the photosensors in the first photosensorarray 220 a may be different from the orientation of the photosensors inthe second photosensor array 220 b. The first photosensor array 220 amay be optically coupled to the scintillator layer 210 in a mannerdifferent from the second photosensor array 220 b. Due at least to thedifferent configurations of the first photosensor array and the secondphotosensor array, the first set of electrical signals may includeinformation different from the second set of electrical signals.

In 1107, a scintillator within the scintillator array that hasinteracted with an impinging radiation ray may be identified. In someembodiments, the impinging radiation ray may relate to an electricalsignal of the first set of electrical signals and/or an electricalsignal of the second set of electrical signals. For example, theelectrical signal may be generated based on an impinging radiation ray.In some embodiments, the scintillator may be identified using anelectronics module (e.g., the electronics module 910). The scintillatormay be identified based on the first set of electrical signals generatedin 1103 and the second set of electrical signals generated in 1105. Theelectronics module 910 may use an algorithm to determine atwo-dimensional interaction position (e.g., a position (x, y) in the X-Yplane of the scintillator array 210) where the impinging radiation rayhas interacted with the scintillator array 210. In some embodiments, afirst position of the impinging radiation ray that has interacted withthe scintillator array in the first direction may be determined based ona first set of electrical signals using the algorithm. In someembodiments, the first direction may correspond to an X axis direction,the first position of the impinging radiation ray may correspond to aposition in the X axis direction, and then, a position of a firstphotosensor that generates an electrical signal with maximum energy ofthe first set of electrical signals in the X axis direction may bedesignated as the first position, or a position of an energy centroid ofthe first set of electrical signals in the X axis direction may bedesignated as the first position. In some embodiments, a second positionof the impinging radiation ray that has interacted with the scintillatorarray in the second direction may be determined based on a second set ofelectrical signals using the algorithm. In some embodiments, the seconddirection may correspond to a Y axis direction, the second position ofthe impinging radiation ray may correspond to a position in the Y axisdirection, and then, a position of a second photosensor that generatesan electrical signal with maximum energy of the second set of electricalsignals in the Y axis direction may be designated as the secondposition, or a position of an energy centroid of the second set ofelectrical signals in the Y axis direction may be designated as thesecond position. Then, the scintillator that has an interaction with theimpinging radiation ray may be identified based on the two-dimensionalinteraction position (e.g., the first position and the second position).In some embodiments, the algorithm may include a centroid algorithm, theAnger-Logic algorithm, a maximum likelihood estimation algorithm, or alocalization algorithm based on an artificial neural network model, orthe like, or any combination thereof.

In 1109, a depth of interaction of the impinging radiation ray in theidentified scintillator may be identified. The depth of interaction maybe identified by an electronics module (e.g., the electronics module910). In some embodiments, the depth of interaction may be identifiedbased on the first set of electrical signals generated in 1103 and thesecond set of electrical signals generated in 1105. Similar to operation1107, the electronics module 910 may use an algorithm to determine thedepth of interaction. The algorithm may include a centroid algorithm,the Anger-Logic algorithm, a maximum likelihood estimation algorithm, ora localization algorithm based on an artificial neural network model, orthe like, or any combination thereof. The algorithm used in 1109 may bethe same as or different from that used in 1107. For example, a centroidalgorithm may be used in 1107 and 1109. As another example, a centroidalgorithm may be used in 1107, while a localization algorithm based onan artificial neural network model may be used in 1109, or vice versa.In some embodiments, the depth of interaction of the impinging radiationray in the identified scintillator may correspond to a position in a Zaxis direction that is perpendicular to the first direction and thesecond direction, and then, a proportional distribution coefficient maybe determined based on a ratio of first energy relating to the first setof electrical signals to second energy relating to the first set ofelectrical signals and the second set of electrical signals, and thedepth of interaction of the impinging radiation ray may be determinedbased on the proportional distribution coefficient. In some embodiments,the first energy may relate to a first sum of the first set ofelectrical signals, the second energy may relate to a second sum of thefirst set of electrical signals and the second set of electricalsignals, and the first set of electrical signals and the second set ofelectrical signals may be converted by at least one analog-to-digitalconverter and processed by the position decoding unit 1004.

In 1111, an interaction time when the impinging radiation ray interactswith the identified scintillator may be determined. The interaction timemay be determined by the time determination unit 1006. The interactiontime may be determined based on the first set of electrical signalsgenerated in 1103 and/or the second set of electrical signals generatedin 1105. In some embodiments, the interaction time may be determinedbased on the energy and/or collection time of the electrical signals. Insome embodiments, the interaction time when an impinging radiation rayinteracts with the identified scintillator may be determined using atime-to-digital converter (TDC). In some embodiments, if the impingingradiation ray interacts with the scintillator array from the firstsurface of the scintillator array, then a third sum of the first set ofelectrical signals may be determined, and the interaction time may bedetermined based on the third sum of the first set of electrical signalsusing a lower limit detection (LLD) circuit, a constant fractiondiscriminator (CFD) circuit, and/or a time-to-digital converter (TDC).In some embodiments, if the impinging radiation ray interacts with thescintillator array from the second surface of the scintillator array,and then a fourth sum of the second set of electrical signals may bedetermined, and the interaction time may be determined based on thefourth sum of the second set of electrical signals using a lower limitdetection (LLD) circuit, or a constant fraction discriminator (CFD)circuit, and a time-to-digital converter (TDC). More descriptions of thedetermination of the interaction time may be found elsewhere in thepresent disclosure. See, for example, FIG. 13 and the descriptionthereof.

In 1113, the interaction time determined in 1111 may be corrected. Theinteraction time may be corrected by the time correction unit 1008. Insome embodiments, the interaction time may be corrected based on thedepth of interaction of the impinging radiation ray in the identifiedscintillator. In some embodiments, the interaction time may be correctedusing a time correction technique, for example, time walk correction.More descriptions of the correction of the interaction time may be foundelsewhere in the present disclosure. See, for example, FIG. 13 and thedescription thereof.

In 1115, image data may be generated. In some embodiments, the imagedata may be generated by the processing module 906. In some embodiments,the image data may be generated based on the first set of electricalsignals generated in 1103, the second set of electrical signalsgenerated in 1105, information relating to the identified scintillator(e.g., the scintillator identified in 1107, the depth of interactionidentified in 1109, etc.), and/or the interaction time (e.g., theinteraction time determined in 1111, the interaction time corrected in1113, etc.). In some embodiments, the image data may include datarelating to one or more lines of response (LORs). In some embodiments,one or more coincidence events may be determined based on thetwo-dimensional interaction positions and the interaction times of aplurality of impinging radiation rays. If two radiation rays impinge onand interact with two scintillators located on opposite sides of thedetection region 113 within a certain time window (e.g., 1 ns, 2 ns, 5ns, 10 ns, etc.), the two radiation rays may be determined to come fromthe same annihilation, and regarded as a coincidence event. As usedherein, if a line linking two scintillators intercepts with a subjectbeing scanned (or a portion of the subject), the two scintillators maybe referred to as being located on opposite sides of the detectionregion 113. The coincidence event may be assigned to a line of response(LOR) joining the two relevant scintillators that detect the coincidenceevent. The coincidence events that are assigned to same lines ofresponse (LORs) may be projected and image data may be generated.

It should be noted that the above description of the process 1100 ismerely provided for the purpose of illustration, and not intended tolimit the scope of the present disclosure. For persons having ordinaryskills in the art, multiple variations and modifications may be made tothe process 1100 under the teachings of the present disclosure. However,those variations and modifications do not depart from the scope of thepresent disclosure. For example, operations 1103 and 1105 may beimplemented simultaneously or alternately. As another example, operation1109 may be implemented before operation 1107. As still another example,operation 1111 may be implemented before 1107 and/or 1109. As a furtherexample, operation 1113 may be omitted. As still a further example, anoperation for reconstructing an image based on the image data generatedin 1115 may be added in the process 1100. The reconstructed image mayshow a tracer distribution within the subject. In some embodiments, thescintillator array may further include S rows of blocks arranged in thefirst direction and T columns of blocks arranged in the seconddirection, wherein each block may include N rows of scintillatorsarranged in the first direction and M columns of scintillators arrangedin the second direction, and then, a sum of S electrical signalsgenerated by S photosensors that are optically coupled to the firstsurface of the scintillator array and arranged in a same column of the Tcolumns of blocks may be designated as one of the first set ofelectrical signals, and a sum of T electrical signals generated by Tphotosensors that are optically coupled to the second surface of thescintillator array and arranged in a same row of the S rows of blocksmay be designated as one of the second set of electrical signals.Therefore, the signal processing operation may be similar to process1100.

FIGS. 12A-12C are schematic diagrams illustrating exemplary electronicsfor determining information relating to the interaction position of areceived radiation ray according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The determination of the interaction position may beperformed by the position decoding unit 1006. The interaction positionof an impinging radiation ray (e.g., y ray) may be determined based onone or more algorithms. The algorithm may include a centroid (i.e.,center of gravity) algorithm, the Anger-Logic algorithm, a maximumlikelihood estimation algorithm, a statistical-based localizationalgorithm, a three-dimensional nonlinear localization algorithm, alocalization algorithm based on an artificial neural network model, orthe like, or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the interaction position of an impinging radiationray may be determined based on a first set of electrical signals (e.g.,the signal the signal Y_(N)′ shown in FIG. 12A) and a second set ofelectrical signals (e.g., the signal X₁′, . . . , the signal X_(M)′shown in FIG. 12A). The first set of electrical signals may be generatedby an N×1 first photosensor array 220 a. The second set of electricalsignals may be generated by a 1×M second photosensor array 220 b. Insome embodiments, the N×1 first photosensor array 220 a may be arrangedon a top surface of an N×M scintillator crystal array 210, and the 1×Msecond photosensor array 220 b may be arranged on a bottom surface ofthe N×M scintillator array 210.

In some embodiments, a first electrical signal of the first set ofelectrical signals or a second electrical signal of the second set ofelectrical signals may include a pulse signal. The first electricalsignal or the second electrical signal may including informationregarding the energy of the impinging radiation ray. The first set ofelectrical signals (e.g., the signals Y₁′, . . . , Y_(N)′ shown in FIG.12A) and the second set of electrical signals (e.g., the signals X₁′, .. . , X_(M)′ shown in FIG. 12A) may be transformed to digital signals byone or more analog-to-digital converters (ADC). Exemplary ADCs mayinclude a flash ADC, a successive-approximation ADC, a ramp-compare ADC,a Wilkinson ADC, an integrating ADC, a delta-encoded ADC, a pipelinedADC, a sigma-delta ADC, a time-interleaved ADC, or the like, or acombination thereof. The ADC(s) may sample the electrical signals at acertain frequency. The frequency may be at the Hertz (Hz) level, the MHzlevel, the 1000 MHz level, etc. In some embodiments, an electricalsignal may be sampled within a few nanoseconds, for example, rangingfrom one nanosecond to twenty nanoseconds. As shown in FIG. 12A, signalY_(N)′ (N≥1) and signal X_(M)′ (M≥1) may be transformed into digitalsignals through an ADC connected to each of them. The digital signalsmay be transmitted to the position decoding unit 1004.

In some embodiments, the interaction position of a received radiationray may be determined based on a centroid (i.e., center of gravity)algorithm. A center of gravity may be used to determine an averageposition of a mass. Merely by way of example, a two-dimensionalinteraction position (x, y) in the X-Y plane of the scintillator array210 may be determined based on the following Equation (1) and Equation(2):

$\begin{matrix}{{x = \frac{X_{j}}{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{M}X_{j}}},} & (1) \\{{y = \frac{Y_{i}}{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}Y_{i}}},} & (2)\end{matrix}$

where x may be the coordinate position with respect to the X axis, y maybe the coordinate position with respect to the Y axis, X_(j) may be theenergy represented by the digital signal X_(j), and Y_(i) may be theenergy represented by the digital signal Y_(i).

In some embodiments, a scintillator that has interacted with animpinging radiation ray may be identified based on the two-dimensionalinteraction position (x, y). In some embodiments, x may fall within oneof a first range [0, C₁], a second range [C₁, C₂], . . . , a jth range[C_(j-1), 1], where C₁, C₂, . . . , C_(j-1) are preset coefficients. Ifx falls within the jth range, the scintillator may be identified to bein the jth column of the scintillator array 210. Similarly, y may fallwithin one of a first range [0, D₁], a second range [D₁, D₂], . . . , anith range [D_(i-1), 1], where D₁, D₂, . . . , D_(i-1) are presetcoefficients. If y falls within the ith range, the scintillator may beidentified to be in the ith row of the scintillator array 210. Thus, thescintillator located at the ith row and the jth column may be identifiedto have a radiation ray interaction with the impinging radiation ray. Insome embodiments, the preset coefficients C₁, C₂, . . . , C_(j-1), andD₁, D₂, . . . , D_(i-1) may be set based on a default or predeterminedsetting of the imaging system 100 or set by a user.

In some embodiments, the two-dimensional interaction position (x, y) maybe determined based on a first maximum energy among the signal Y₁, . . ., Y_(N) and a second maximum energy among the signal X₁, . . . , X_(M).For example, if N equals 4 and M equals 4 (see the detector module 300in FIG. 3A), eight signals X₁, X₂, X₃, X₄, Y₁, Y₂, Y₃, and Y₄ may besampled. The first maximum energy Y_(max) may be determined based on thesignals Y₁, Y₂, Y₃, and Y₄. The second maximal energy X_(max) may bedetermined based on the signals X₁, X₂, X₃, and X₄. If the photosensorthat detects the first maximum energy Y_(max) is P_(Y1) (i=1, 2, 3, or4), then the scintillator may be identified to be in the ith row of thescintillator array 210. If the photosensor that detects the secondmaximum energy X_(max) is P_(Xj) (j=1, 2, 3, or 4), then thescintillator may be identified to be in the jth column of thescintillator array 210. Thus, the scintillator located at the ith rowand the jth column may be identified to have a radiation ray interactionwith the received radiation ray. In some embodiments, the first maximumenergy Y_(max) may be determined based on a first comparator (notshown), and the second maximum energy X_(max) may be determined based ona second comparator (not shown).

In some embodiments, a depth of interaction of the received radiationray may be determined based on the centroid (i.e., center of gravity)algorithm. Merely by way of example, the depth of interaction may bedetermined based on the following Equation (3) or Equation (4):

$\begin{matrix}{{z = \frac{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}Y_{i}}{{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}Y_{i}} + {\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{M}X_{j}}}},} & (3) \\{{z = \frac{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}X_{j}}{{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}Y_{i}} + {\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{M}X_{j}}}},} & (4)\end{matrix}$

where z is the depth of interaction in the identified scintillator withrespect to the Z axis. For example, if N equals 4 and M equals 4, eightsignals X₁, X₂, X₃, X₄, Y₁, Y₂, Y₃, and Y₄ may be received. The depth ofinteraction of the received radiation ray may be determined based onEquation (5) or Equation (6):

$\begin{matrix}{{z = \frac{X_{1} + X_{2} + X_{3} + X_{4}}{X_{1} + X_{2} + X_{3} + X_{4} + Y_{1} + Y_{2} + Y_{3} + Y_{4}}},} & (5) \\{z = {\frac{Y_{1} + Y_{2} + Y_{3} + Y_{4}}{X_{1} + X_{2} + X_{3} + X_{4} + Y_{1} + Y_{2} + Y_{3} + Y_{4}}.}} & (6)\end{matrix}$

In some embodiments, Σ_(i=1) ^(N)Y_(i) and/or Σ_(j=1) ^(M)X_(j) inEquations (3)-(6) may be determined by one or more adders (see SUM inFIG. 12B). For example, a first adder may be connected with the signalsY₁′, . . . , Y_(N)′ after they are digitized by corresponding ADCs todetermine a sum of energies of the digital signals Y₁, . . . , Y_(N)(i.e., Σ_(i=1) ^(N)Y_(i)). As another example, a second adder may beconnected with the signals X₁′, . . . , X_(M)′ after they are digitizedby corresponding ADCs to determine a sum of energies of the digitalsignals X₁, . . . , X_(M) (i.e., Σ_(j-1) ^(M)X_(j)). As still anotherexample, a third adder may be connected with the first adder and thesecond adder to determine a sum of energies of the digital signals Y₁, .. . , Y_(N), X₁, . . . , X_(M) (i.e., Σ_(i=1) ^(N)Y_(i)+Σ_(j=1)^(M)X_(j)). The sum of energies and/or the individual signals may betransmitted to the position decoding unit 1004 for determining theinteraction position. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 12B, theadders may be integrated in the position decoding unit 1004. In someembodiments, one or more of the adders may not be integrated in theposition decoding unit 1004.

Merely by way of example, if N equals 2 and M equals 2 (see the detectormodule 600 in FIG. 6A), as shown in FIG. 12C, four digital signals X₁,X₂, Y₁ and Y₂ may be received. A two-dimensional interaction position(x, y) in the X-Y plane of the scintillator array 210 may be determinedbased on the following Equation (7) and Equation (8). In someembodiments, the two-dimensional interaction position (x, y) may bealternatively determined based on the following Equation (9) andEquation (10).

$\begin{matrix}{{x = \frac{X_{1}}{X_{1} + X_{2}}},} & (7) \\{{y = \frac{Y_{1}}{Y_{1} + Y_{2}}},} & (8) \\{{x = \frac{X_{2}}{X_{1} + X_{2}}},} & (9) \\{y = {\frac{Y_{2}}{Y_{1} + Y_{2}}.}} & (10)\end{matrix}$

The depth of interaction may be determined based on the followingEquation (11) or Equation (12):

$\begin{matrix}{{z = \frac{X_{1} + X_{2}}{X_{1} + X_{2} + Y_{1} + Y_{2}}},} & (11) \\{{z = \frac{Y_{1} + Y_{2}}{X_{1} + X_{2} + Y_{1} + Y_{2}}},} & (12)\end{matrix}$

As shown in FIG. 12C, a first adder may receive the signals Y₁′ and Y₂′after they are digitized by corresponding ADCs to determine a sum ofenergies of the digital signals Y₁ and Y₂ (i.e., Y₁+Y₂ in Equations (8)and (10)-(12)). A second adder may receive the signals X₁′ and X₂′ afterthey are digitized by corresponding ADCs to determine a sum of energiesof the digital signals X₁ and X₂ (i.e., X₁+X₂ in Equations (7), (9),(11), and (12)). The sum of energies and/or the individual signals maybe transmitted to the position decoding unit 1004 for determining theinteraction position. In some embodiments, the adders may be integratedinto the position decoding unit 1004. In some embodiments, as shown inFIG. 12C, one or more of the adders may not be integrated into theposition decoding unit 1004.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary electronics fordetermining information relating to the interaction time of a receivedradiation ray according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.The interaction time of an impinging radiation ray may be a time when aparticle of the radiation ray interacts with an identified scintillatorwithin the scintillator array 210. The determination of the interactiontime may be performed by the time determination unit 1006. In someembodiments, as shown in FIG. 13, the interaction time may be determinedbased on a lower limit detection (LLD) circuit (or a constant fractiondiscriminator (CFD) circuit) and a time-to-digital converter (TDC).

In some embodiments, a first sum of energies of digital signals Y₁, . .. , Y_(N), and a second sum of energies of digital signals X₁, . . . ,X_(M) may be compared with a first energy threshold and a second energythreshold, respectively. The first energy threshold and/or the secondenergy threshold may be 400 KeV, 500 KeV, 600 KeV, etc. In someembodiments, the first energy threshold may be the same as or differentfrom the second energy threshold. If the first (or second) sum of energyis greater than the first (or second) energy threshold, the receivedradiation ray interaction with the scintillator array 210 may bedetermined to be a valid event. In some embodiments, whether thereceived radiation ray interaction is a valid event may be determinedusing a lower limit detection (LLD) circuit or a constant fractiondiscriminator (CFD) circuit.

If the interation of an impinging radiation ray with the identifiedscintillator is determined to be a valid event, then the digital signalsY₁, . . . , Y_(N), the digital signals X₁, . . . , X_(M), the first sumof energies of digital signals Y₁, . . . , Y_(N), the second sum ofenergies of digital signals X₁, . . . , X_(M), and/or the sampling timesof the signals may be transmitted to a time-to-digital converter (TDC)to determine the interaction time of the impinging radiation ray. TheTDC may include an ASIC-based TDC, an FPGA-based TDC, or the like, or acombination thereof. The TDC may work based on a direct count technique,a Vernier technique, a tapped delay line technique, a difference delaychain technique, or the like, or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, a time walk error may exist in the interactiontime. In some embodiments, the interaction time may be corrected basedon the depth of interaction and a time correction technique. Thecorrection of the interaction time may be performed by the timecorrection unit 1008. The time correction technique may include a deadtime correction, a time walk correction, etc. As shown in FIG. 13, atime walk correction may be used. In some embodiments, an initial timingti of an electrical signal (e.g., the signal Y₁′, . . . , Y_(N)′, X₁′, .. . , or X_(M)′) may be determined based on a time-based readout (TBR)circuit. Then the time walk error may be corrected with a quantitativerelationship between the ti and its signal amplitude. Descriptionregarding the correction of the time walk error may be found in, forexample, Energy and Timing Measurement with Time-Based Detector Readoutfor PET Applications: Principle and Validation with Discrete CircuitComponents authored by Xishan Sun et al., which is hereby incorporatedby reference.

Having thus described the basic concepts, it may be rather apparent tothose skilled in the art after reading this detailed disclosure that theforegoing detailed disclosure is intended to be presented by way ofexample only and is not limiting. Various alterations, improvements, andmodifications may occur and are intended to those skilled in the art,though not expressly stated herein. These alterations, improvements, andmodifications are intended to be suggested by this disclosure, and arewithin the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of thisdisclosure.

Moreover, certain terminology has been used to describe embodiments ofthe present disclosure. For example, the terms “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” and/or “some embodiments” mean that a particular feature,structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.Therefore, it is emphasized and should be appreciated that two or morereferences to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” or “an alternativeembodiment” in various portions of this specification are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures or characteristics may be combined assuitable in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

Further, it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects ofthe present disclosure may be illustrated and described herein in any ofa number of patentable classes or context including any new and usefulprocess, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new anduseful improvement thereof. Accordingly, aspects of the presentdisclosure may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combiningsoftware and hardware implementation that may all generally be referredto herein as a “unit,” “module,” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects ofthe present disclosure may take the form of a computer program productembodied in one or more computer readable media having computer readableprogram code embodied thereon.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including electro-magnetic, optical, or thelike, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signalmedium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computerreadable storage medium and that may communicate, propagate, ortransport a program for use by or in connection with an instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on acomputer readable signal medium may be transmitted using any appropriatemedium, including wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, or thelike, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent disclosure may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C#, VB. NET,Python or the like, conventional procedural programming languages, suchas the “C” programming language, Visual Basic, Fortran 2103, Perl, COBOL2102, PHP, ABAP, dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby andGroovy, or other programming languages. The program code may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider) or in a cloud computing environment or offered as aservice such as a Software as a Service (SaaS).

Furthermore, the recited order of processing elements or sequences, orthe use of numbers, letters, or other designations therefore, is notintended to limit the claimed processes and methods to any order exceptas may be specified in the claims. Although the above disclosurediscusses through various examples what is currently considered to be avariety of useful embodiments of the disclosure, it is to be understoodthat such detail is solely for that purpose, and that the appendedclaims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on thecontrary, are intended to cover modifications and equivalentarrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the disclosedembodiments. For example, although the implementation of variouscomponents described above may be embodied in a hardware device, it mayalso be implemented as a software only solution, for example, aninstallation on an existing server or mobile device.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the foregoing description ofembodiments of the present disclosure, various features are sometimesgrouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereoffor the purpose of streamlining the disclosure aiding in theunderstanding of one or more of the various inventive embodiments. Thismethod of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed subject matter requires more features thanare expressly recited in each claim. Rather, inventive embodiments liein less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment.

In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities or propertiesused to describe and claim certain embodiments of the application are tobe understood as being modified in some instances by the term “about,”“approximate,” or “substantially.” For example, “about,” “approximate,”or “substantially” may indicate ±20% variation of the value itdescribes, unless otherwise stated. Accordingly, in some embodiments,the numerical parameters set forth in the written description andattached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon thedesired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. Insome embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in lightof the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinaryrounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges andparameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of theapplication are approximations, the numerical values set forth in thespecific examples are reported as precisely as practicable.

Each of the patents, patent applications, publications of patentapplications, and other material, such as articles, books,specifications, publications, documents, things, and/or the like,referenced herein is hereby incorporated herein by this reference in itsentirety for all purposes, excepting any prosecution file historyassociated with same, any of same that is inconsistent with or inconflict with the present document, or any of same that may have alimiting affect as to the broadest scope of the claims now or laterassociated with the present document. By way of example, should there beany inconsistency or conflict between the description, definition,and/or the use of a term associated with any of the incorporatedmaterial and that associated with the present document, the description,definition, and/or the use of the term in the present document shallprevail.

In closing, it is to be understood that the embodiments of theapplication disclosed herein are illustrative of the principles of theembodiments of the application. Other modifications that may be employedmay be within the scope of the application. Thus, by way of example, butnot of limitation, alternative configurations of the embodiments of theapplication may be utilized in accordance with the teachings herein.Accordingly, embodiments of the present application are not limited tothat precisely as shown and describe.

What is claimed is:
 1. A PET system, comprising: a detector moduleconfigured to receive radiation rays and generate a plurality of lightsignals in response to the received radiation rays, the detector modulecomprising: a scintillator array having N rows of scintillators and Mcolumns of scintillators, each row of scintillators being arranged in afirst direction, each column of scintillators being arranged in a seconddirection; a first set of photosensors optically coupled to a firstsurface of the scintillator array, at least one photosensor of the firstset of photosensors extending longitudinally in the second direction soas to be optically coupled to two or more scintillators in the seconddirection and being optically coupled to two or more rows ofscintillators arranged in the first direction; and a second set ofphotosensors optically coupled to a second surface of the scintillatorarray, at least one photosensor of the second set of photosensorsextending longitudinally in the first direction; and an electronicsmodule coupled to the detector module and being configured to identify ascintillator within the scintillator array that has interacted with animpinging radiation ray.
 2. The PET system of claim 1, wherein the firstset of photosensors or the second set of photosensors include at leastone silicon photomultiplier (SiPM).
 3. The PET system of claim 1,further comprising a gantry with a detection region for receiving asubject to be scanned, wherein the first surface or the second surfaceof the scintillator array faces the detection region.
 4. The PET systemof claim 1, wherein the first direction is approximately perpendicularto the second direction.
 5. The PET system of claim 1, wherein N equalsM, or N is different from M.
 6. The PET system of claim 1, wherein theelectronics module is coupled to the first set of photosensors and thesecond set of photosensors, and the electronics module is furtherconfigured to: detect a first set of electrical signals generated by thefirst set of photosensors and a second set of electrical signalsgenerated by the second set of photosensors, wherein the impingingradiation ray is relating to an electrical signal of the first set ofelectrical signals or the second set of electrical signals.
 7. The PETsystem of claim 6, wherein the electronics module comprises: a pluralityof analog-to-digital converters (ADC) configured to digitize the firstset of electrical signals and the second set of electrical signals; anda position decoding unit configured to identify, based on the digitizedfirst set of electrical signals and the digitized second set ofelectrical signals, the scintillator within the scintillator array thathas interacted with the impinging radiation ray.
 8. The PET system ofclaim 7, wherein the position decoding unit is further configured todetermine a depth of interaction of the impinging radiation ray.
 9. ThePET system of claim 8, wherein the electronics module further comprises:a lower limit detection (LLD) circuit, or a constant fractiondiscriminator (CFD) circuit; and a time-to-digital converter (TDC)configured to determine an interaction time when the impinging radiationray interacts with the identified scintillator.
 10. The PET system ofclaim 9, wherein the electronics module further comprises: a timecorrection unit configured to correct the interaction time based on thedepth of interaction of the impinging radiation ray.
 11. The PET systemof claim 1, further comprising: a processing module configured toreconstruct an image based on the first set of electrical signalsgenerated by the first set of photosensors and the second set ofelectrical signals generated by the second set of photosensors.
 12. Amethod for PET imaging, comprising: detecting, using a scintillatorarray, a plurality of radiation rays, wherein the scintillator arrayincludes N rows of scintillators and M columns of scintillators, eachrow of scintillators being arranged in a first direction, each column ofscintillators being arranged in a second direction; generating, using afirst set of photosensors, a first set of electrical signals based onthe plurality of radiation rays, wherein the first set of photosensorsare optically coupled to a first surface of the scintillator array, atleast one photosensor of the first set of photosensors extendinglongitudinally in the second direction so as to be optically coupled totwo or more scintillators in the second direction and being opticallycoupled to two or more rows of scintillators arranged in the firstdirection; generating, using a second set of photosensors, a second setof electrical signals based on the plurality of radiation rays, whereinthe second set of photosensors are optically coupled to a second surfaceof the scintillator array, at least one photosensor of the second set ofphotosensors extending longitudinally in the first direction; andidentifying, using an electronics module, a scintillator within thescintillator array that has interacted with an impinging radiation rayrelating to an electrical signal of the first set of electrical signalsor the second set of electrical signals.
 13. The method of claim 12,further comprising: identifying, using the algorithm, a depth ofinteraction of the impinging radiation ray in the identifiedscintillator, based on the first set of electrical signals and thesecond set of electrical signals.
 14. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising: determining, using a time-to-digital converter (TDC), aninteraction time when the impinging radiation ray interacts with theidentified scintillator.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:correcting the interaction time based on the depth of interaction of theimpinging radiation ray in the identified scintillator.
 16. The methodof claim 13, wherein the depth of interaction of the impinging radiationray in the identified scintillator corresponds to a position in a Z axisdirection that is perpendicular to the first direction and the seconddirection, and wherein the identifying the depth of interaction of theimpinging radiation ray in the identified scintillator comprises:determining, based on a ratio of first energy relating to the first setof electrical signals to second energy relating to the first set ofelectrical signals and the second set of electrical signals, aproportional distribution coefficient; and determining, based on theproportional distribution coefficient, the depth of interaction of theimpinging radiation ray.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the firstenergy relates to a first sum of the first set of electrical signals,and the second energy relates to a second sum of the first set ofelectrical signals and the second set of electrical signals, and whereinthe first set of electrical signals and the second set of electricalsignals are converted by at least one analog-to-digital converter andprocessed by a position decoding unit.
 18. The method of claim 14,wherein the impinging radiation ray interacts with the scintillatorarray from the second surface of the scintillator array, and wherein thedetermining an interaction time comprises: determining a fourth sum ofthe second set of electrical signals; and determining, using a lowerlimit detection (LLD) circuit, or a constant fraction discriminator(CFD) circuit, and a time-to-digital converter (TDC), the interactiontime based on the fourth sum of the second set of electrical signals.19. A detector module configured to receive radiation rays and generatea plurality of light signals in response to the received radiation rays,comprising: a scintillator array having N rows of scintillators and Mcolumns of scintillators, each row of scintillators being arranged in afirst direction, each column of scintillators being arranged in a seconddirection; a first set of photosensors optically coupled to a firstsurface of the scintillator array, at least one photosensor of the firstset of photosensors extending longitudinally in the second direction soas to be optically coupled to two or more scintillators in the seconddirection and being optically coupled to two or more rows ofscintillators arranged in the first direction; and a second set ofphotosensors optically coupled to a second surface of the scintillatorarray, at least one photosensor of the second set of photosensorsextending longitudinally in the first direction.
 20. The detector moduleof claim 19, wherein each scintillator in the scintillator array isoptically coupled to only one photosensor of the first set ofphotosensors, and each scintillator in the scintillator array isoptically coupled to only one photosensor of the second set ofphotosensors.